Rake's Progress
Dec. 4th, 2002 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rejectomorphWell, I've taken the rake to the mulberry leaves. The lawn looks none the worse for having been covered for several days. I also removed some leaves from the bed of lilies next to the lawn. Under the leaves, I found a copious growth of some plant I don't recognize. It has leaves like dichondra, but much larger-- as much as an inch across-- and the stems are longer. It must have loved the moist shade of the leaves, to have grown so large and dense in so short a time. It will be interesting to see what becomes of it, now that it will be exposed to sunlight.
Anyway, I loaded the leaves onto a tarp about four feet wide and ten feet long, and dragged them around to the back yard where they are now heaped up, waiting to dry. They were so numerous that I had to make two trips. Now, the heap of fresh leaves is sitting next to the much diminished heap of leaves which has been there for about a week. Mulberry leaves are thick, and take a long time to dry out, but once they do, they are easily crushed to a powder which takes up surprisingly little room. Unlike the durable oak leaves and the nearly indestructible pine needles, we don't bother to burn the mulberry leaves. Once they have dried, we crush them and mix them into the dirt. There is almost nothing to them, by that point.
While I was raking, I heard honking from the sky, and looked up to see a large flock of geese flying northeast in a V formation. They are probably taking advantage of the mild day to go fishing in the reservoirs in Butte Creek Canyon. If I'd had a camera with me, I'd have taken a picture, as they were flying fairly low, and the light was good. But they were also flying swiftly, and I knew that by the time I had fetched a camera from the house, they'd have been out of sight. I must remember to keep a camera handy at all times on mild days such as this.
Anyway, I loaded the leaves onto a tarp about four feet wide and ten feet long, and dragged them around to the back yard where they are now heaped up, waiting to dry. They were so numerous that I had to make two trips. Now, the heap of fresh leaves is sitting next to the much diminished heap of leaves which has been there for about a week. Mulberry leaves are thick, and take a long time to dry out, but once they do, they are easily crushed to a powder which takes up surprisingly little room. Unlike the durable oak leaves and the nearly indestructible pine needles, we don't bother to burn the mulberry leaves. Once they have dried, we crush them and mix them into the dirt. There is almost nothing to them, by that point.
While I was raking, I heard honking from the sky, and looked up to see a large flock of geese flying northeast in a V formation. They are probably taking advantage of the mild day to go fishing in the reservoirs in Butte Creek Canyon. If I'd had a camera with me, I'd have taken a picture, as they were flying fairly low, and the light was good. But they were also flying swiftly, and I knew that by the time I had fetched a camera from the house, they'd have been out of sight. I must remember to keep a camera handy at all times on mild days such as this.
