Out and About; Leaves

 

I made another trip to town yesterday.

This trip included another stop at South Fork Hardware.

Ray Yaw, Jr. was walking through just as I entered, and he knew why I was there.

He went to an area near the cash registers and then handed me a box, which had handles on both sides. 

Inside the box was a leaf blower, which I had ordered and paid for over the phone. 

The purchase should make my fall weeks of leaf clean-up much easier and less time consuming. 

It's a seemingly never-ending process around here as the poplar, maples, oak and cottonwood trees take their own sweet time dropping their BILLYUNS of leaves.  

In past years, the pickup has been managed by bags on the back on the lawnmower, followed by raking, followed by more passes with the lawnmower, more raking, etc. etc. 

I know that my family thinks I'm crazy when I'm out there day after day going round and round with that lawnmower clear into late November or when the snow prevents me from using the lawnmower. 

Gosh, I'm thinking about this time last year when we were in Ireland and schools closed down because of a snow storm.  

Fortunately, the snow was gone when we returned and millYons of leaves had yet to fall. 

Anywho, I'm thinking the leaf blower will keep me from blowing a cork after a day of leaf pickup, when I look out and see several inches of leaves along every single border in the yard. 

Rather than raking, raking, raking, I can blow, blow, blow, which seems easier.

  It may still involve a lot of walking but those leaves tend to release themselves from nooks and crannies a lot easier with the blower than the rake. 

My trip to town for the blower took me past a few neat buildings and flower beds.  I also turned off on a side road where the beginnings of this brand new season called fall are starting to show with ferns turned brown, amber grass stems and lots of snowberries and pretty mountain ash. 

The best is yet to come, I hope, as long as nasty weather doesn't decimate the fall color show like it has some years. 

My garden window is becoming alive with fall color this week as huge tomatoes, and little ones become redder by the hour. 

Outside the tomato plants are loaded, so I'm hoping to find a few good recipes for soup or sauces.  

Tomatoes are the one garden crop this year with fruits aplenty so I'm feeling good and excited to use them wisely.   

In other news, I see that the Covid count in the county rose significantly over the weekend. 

We had 286 cases on Friday and 306 reported by Panhandle Health yesterday.

I also read this morning that in the past ten days, the number of cases worldwide has risen 15 percent. 

In Ireland, I have a friend named Eileen who is lamenting another lockdown for at least three weeks in Dublin where there has been a significant spike. 

Seems the virus is still winning here in America and around the world. 

We'll soldier on, wearing our masks with pride, keeping our distance, washing our hands and tending to the fall cleanup and winter preparation here in the great and wonderful space of the Lovestead. 

Guess that's all for today. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday.