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!”

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.
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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Thanks. My wife prefers a rake as it’s quiet and good exercise. I use a rake around the edges, but then I use the blower. Thanks for the comment, and the compliment for Maddie.
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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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Thanks Cheryl. Yucky weather here this week. Next nice day might be Saturday. Yardwork and dinner was fun, and I got a very nice birthday gift (more about that later). I willbe very busy at work for a couple of days.
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Now I’m intrigued. 😀
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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 Mary. Between Faith and The Editor, a big dent was put into the leaf pile. We will have more to bag, but that was a huge help. This is when i’m glad we have a small yard (by comparison).
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Happy Birthday, and it sounds like you had a productive one. Siding looks great, leaf bags ready for pickup, visit from your favorite daughter, walk with Maddie, and a nice meal out. Life is good, Dan. :-)
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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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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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Thanks Shelly. I think we’re in pretty good shape with the yard and the project. Everybody pitched in this weekend.
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Leaf collection – I forgot about that chore!!!! (but Faith looks like she’s got it under control!)
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Forgot about leaf raking – that’s the good life! I think we have a handle o it for this year.
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Happy birthday, Dan! What a lot of leaves… :-)
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Thanks Ruth. It used to be worse. We had more trees, including pine trees with those awful needles.
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You gotta love a woman who uses tools! And blowing hot air is fun too!
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However those leaves got to the curb is good news for me, Pam. Faith uses the power tool, The Editor used a rake, but they’re all in bags.
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It’s possible I get a little obsessed but I do enjoy vanquishing – I mean leaf blowing. I’m sorry I left, Maddie, I’ll come see you soon. And Happy Birthday Dad :)
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Thanks Faith. Maddie sniffed the entire yard. “Faith was here, Faith was here. Faith was here, here and here.”
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You sure know how to have fun! But the yard looks great.
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Thanks Lois. It’s good to see these jobs/projects come closer to the finish line.
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Considering how tenacious those leaves are in a wind storm, you have to wait for them to fall. There are some trees I wish kept their leaves long enough to get another photograph of them.
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Some of the oak trees hold onto their leaves until spring, Frank. Those will be falling all winter, but we’ll get the bulk of them up and out before they stop picking them up in early December.
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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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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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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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She would have gotten a lot of views if she could have posted your burning truck. You should have come home a little bit earlier.
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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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I hope the trees can handle the strain of the snow. That happened here 10 years ago and we were without power for 10 days! We also removed a couple of trees. Where we used to live, 45 bags would be normal, but we were a lot younger. I should say, my wife was a lot younger – she did most of the yard work.
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LOL! Kudos to your wife. :)
And OMG, 10 days without power! I think the most we ever went was just under 24 hours. That must have been a nightmare!
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It really wasn’t that bad. My wife kept the house warm with our wood stove. I recharged everything at the town’s charging station and we read by LED flashlight 🙂
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:)
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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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You are so lucky to get good help with those leaves. I looked at those clams and is that risotto in with the linguini? Sure looks good. Super post.
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Thanks John. It was risotto in that dish. It made a nice addition once soaked in the white wine sauce. These guys chipped in. My biggest task was taking the bags out to the curb.
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Big task.
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Happy birthday Dan. So which is the really big tree the really big leaf came from ? ! I hope the weather cooperates so you can get this wrapped up. Those clams and pasta look delicious.
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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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Happy Belated Birthday Dan! That leaf is 2 hands plus large!!
Faith looks like a Pro with a leaf blower, and she looks great doing it.
The siding is nearly done!
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Thanks Deborah. That’s the largest leaf I’ve ever seen. I think it landed with a thud.
Faith is pretty good with the blower, but her mom does a mean job with the rake. All I know is this was easy for me ;-)
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It’s great to have help! 😁
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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 Hilary. I think I can get these projects finished before winter claims the yard. We’ll certainly have to bag more leaves but that’s normal around here.
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Looks like you two had fun with it, Dan — and Maddie did a great job supervising. Belated wishes for a happy birthday. I think you should celebrate all month. :) Many, many happy returns.
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Thanks Teagan. Im still celebrating 🙂
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OMG…that’s a ton of leaves! Yikes! I don’t miss that job! Only liked it as a kid and I could jump in a huge pile of them! Your garage is coming along well! Impressive work, Dan 📚🎶 Christine
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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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You can’t make the leaves fall faster — 😆😆😆
This rings true in so many areas of my life!!
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It does work as a metaphor.
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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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That might be my retirement plan. Thanks Evelyne
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You made me lol at the photo of Faith pointing the leaf blower at the tree. Happy Birthday month!
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Thanks JoAnna. I’m glad you enjoyed that.
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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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Can you move your leaves into the woods, or do you have to move them out?
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We can move them to the woods. The land does belong to someone, who I don’t know, but in the 9+ years we’ve been here, no complaints have emerged from up dumping our leaves there. When we lived on the UP of Michigan, we had to bag them for the garbage company to haul away. Of course, we lived in town then.
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I can put ours in my trailer and haul them to the leaf dump, but sometimes the bags are easier.
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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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We waited until spring one year. Now we have snow in the yard, mixed with the leaves that fell with it. Nice mess.
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Way to go, Faith. Tools really are fun. Great job on the leaves!
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Both my girls did a great job. Got the leaves out before the snow
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We got everything done and buttoned up… except for the leaves. ☹️
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I think we still have nice days coming. I hope so.
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Me, too.
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That is some serious leaves. :)
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Less than we’ve had in the past, but more are falling.
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I laughed out loud at the photo of Faith with the leaf blower 🤣
Sorry I missed your birthday. I hope it was a great one!
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It was a very good day, Joanne. Thanks!
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I loved the pictures of the autumn leaves. I love walking on those and get that crunch rustling sound. You know what I mean.
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I do, and it is a benefit of the season! Thanks.
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