Dan Antion

Fall Faster – #1LinerWeds

We had a pretty busy weekend, with the garage project, celebrating my birthday and trying to collect and bag the leaves that decided to fall in huge amounts during Friday night’s storm. My plan for Sunday was to complete one simple task, dig a hole for another 10” concrete pier and fill that hole with concrete. I was planning to collect the leaves on Monday afternoon, after I got home from work.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast changed those plans, when it included many rainy days and measurable snow later in the week. Since Monday appeared to be the only nice day we might get this week, I decided to take the day off and make a start on that long wall of siding. Unbeknownst to me (I love being able to use unbeknownst), The Editor was secretly planning to rake the leaves on Monday.

While it is well known that Faith enjoys using the leaf-blower (perhaps a little too much), I didn’t expect her to offer to help me with the leaves on Sunday before going to dinner. When I suggested that there was no need to work toward perfection, because a lot of leaves are still in the trees, she seemed disappointed.

“You can’t make them fall faster!”

“That won’t work!”

Faith and I tag-teamed the back yard for 11 bags of leaves, and The Editor added 6 more on Monday.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

She gets them into a pile, I get them into a bag.
It was a good day. The leaves were dry and the wind wasn’t too strong.
“I got this.”
That is one big leaf!
Look at that, folded over, no tears – it’s like a superpower.
This times 11.
“That won’t work!”
She’s working on a second pile.
Most of those will end up in our yard.
There are still a lot of leaves heading to the ground.
Cheers!
Linguini and clams for me.
Welcome! The skip (dumpster) was delivered Monday morning.
Yes, the Tyvek is upside down. oh well. This is a lot of wall.
Finishing this will require a little bit of staging to work off of. This was a good place to stop.
She’s going to find a few places that need to be revisited.
We can take these to a compost dump, but they also pick them up on Tuesdays.
“Hey, where did all the leaves go? And, where did Faith go?”

73 comments

  1. Belated happy birthday, Dan! :)

    Those were a lot of leaves. I’d enjoy using that leaf-blower myself, except that we don’t have autumn around here and my father rakes the leaves the manual way. That is, using a good, old broomstick. And you have a handsome dog!

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  2. That’s one big yard! And lots of big leaves. Faith is such a big help. Your birthday celebration looked rewarding. I hope the last wall and finishing the project goes smoothly. Happy mid week Dan. We got nothin but rain and cold so no raking yet. 😏

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  3. Wow, 17 bags of leaves and there are more hanging on the trees. The trees must be truly enjoyable in the summer, so I hope that makes up for the clean-up you have to do in the fall. Good thing you had Faith to help with the leaf blower. I like her style as blowing the leaves into submission would also be my choice.

    Glad to see you enjoyed your birthday as well, celebrating with family and food.

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    • Thanks Judy! I was a very nice few days. I think we made great progress on all fronts. The weather is going to be ugly for a few days, but Saturday looks good for finishing that long wall and maybe another round of leaf bags.

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  5. LOL – that’s one big leaf and lots of little ones. I love how she tried to blow them off the tree. Happy Birthday – cheers to you and your accomplishments before the snow flies!

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  12. Sheeesh, talk about a ‘blanket of leaves”! That shot of Faith trying to blow the leaves right off the tree is hysterical. Like The Editor, I use a rake. But I’ve been known to hook that rake on branches giving them a good shake trying to rid them of their remaining leaves.

    The finish line for the garage is within easy reach now. So glad, because before you know it, your outside work will consist of shoveling and snow-blowing. 😡😡 And I don’t think Maddie will miss those leaves for very long. She will have her Maddie Mountain soon enough!

    Love the shot of all the bags lined up at the curb. That’s a picture of accomplishment and teamwork.
    🔹 Ginger 🔹

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    • Thanks Ginger. There are more bags to come, but teamwork made a nice sized dent in this mess. Maddie will have snow, perhaps later this week, but hopefully not enough for Mt. Maddie (not yet).

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  13. Happy birthday, Dan! I’m so glad I don’t live in a suburban area — when I rake leaves, I just haul them deeper into the bush and dump ’em. I can’t even imagine having to bag them! Truth be told, I never rake in the fall anyway. I leave that job for the spring when the lawn can benefit from a good “brushing” after being buried and smooshed down under 6 feet of snow all winter.

    Which has sadly started already. Woke up a few days ago to 10″ of the stuff, and it doesn’t look like it has any intention of leaving for the next 6 months. -_-

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    • Oh my. I’ll just call you Wendy of the Tundra – 10” and staying around. God Bless you and your spirit. We can haul ours to a leaf dump, but I didn’t feel like dragging the trailer out, or backing it back in in between the bushes and the dumpster.

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  14. Leaves…..humph

    My dear wife spent an afternoon raking leaves into a pile on the driveway and lit them on fire, because burning leaves smell soooo nice, dotchya know?. Several hours later, I drove up, worn out from a 14 hour shift on the farm and parked my truck – you know where.

    I got out of the truck and saw burning coals underneath, my first reaction is, “Holy Smoke, my truck is on fire.” My second reaction is, “I parked on a smoldering leaf pile and my tires are on fire.”

    The next day on the farm, I explain what happened to the crew.

    “Greg, you are an idiot,” they told me. “She posted the fire on Facebook. You shoulda known.”

    They know I don’t do Facebook.

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  15. Wishing you a happy belated birthday, Dan!

    I remember the first year my husband and I experienced autumn in our house we had 45 bags of leaves! 20+ years later, we don’t have to worry about raking these days. We did a lot of expansion which meant a lot of trees had to come down, plus we lost several to age and disease, I do like using the leaf blower on our patio :)
    Tomorrow, we are expecting 5-8″ of snow—and there are still autumn leaves on the trees!!

    Fun photos!

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  16. Happy belated birthday, Dan. That’s a lot of leaves and I see Faith was trying to blow the rest off the trees. How did that work for her? :-) Here we can rake our leaves into the street and the city sends a truck by that sucks them up and takes them away. However, as our rental house is in a newer area, there aren’t many big trees and thus, less leaves. In Cleveland, we had a lot of leaves and getting them from the back to the front, where they were piled on the tree lawn waiting for the trucks, was quite a lot of work. I’m with the Editor here; I prefer raking both for less noise and more exercise.

    janet

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    • Thanks Janet – I don’t mind raking, but once I get the leaves into the clear, I prefer nudging them along with the blower. It does make noise, but it goes a little faster. This job has changed a lot over the years. We don’t have as many leaves now. In the early years, we had a lot (and The Editor took care of most of them).

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    • That leaf is from our neighbor’s large oak tree, John, the one Faith is pointing the blower at (in vain). I think we will get a few more nice days before winter starts setting in. Thanks for the good wishes.

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  20. Hi Dan – so glad you were able to go out and enjoy a birthday meal … spaghetti with clams looks delicious … beer and vino to accompany – what’s not to like. Lots of leaves – and I totally approve of the ‘paper’ bags for storage … trouble with trees – they decide to shed when they decide to. Humans work that way too … they’ll decide to do things, which help with a few jobs and leave the main man free to fix his siding wall. Good to see though – and lovely sunny day as well – that white stuff is on its way … just hope you can finish in time … cheers Hilary

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    • Thanks Christine. Our leaves are manageable. Of course, it helps if I’m not also in the final stages of a major project (like this year). But, I think we’ll manage to get everything done on time.

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  24. Happy belated birthday, Dan! And happy projects too. The leaves is a never ending thing in NE, though. In a novel set in MA, the main character organizes raking leaves parties. The guests are fed as long as the yard is raked. Maybe an idea…

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  26. We’re having the same weather problems down here in Tennessee. We don’t have to worry so much about the leaves in the front yard, just leaves from the neighbors. But in the back, we have a ton of them because we have woods just beyond our property line.

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  27. Funny!
    Great photos, fall in action!
    I wonder if I’d enjoy a leaf blower. Seriously, we should get one. Need it in spring, too, all those maple propellers and buds and whatnot.
    We haven’t raked a stitch. Maybe we won’t. Maybe he’ll mow and mulch them on some warm day. Hahaha! Riiiight. Anyway, I’ve done it later than now. The weather does as it pleases.

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