Why Rake When You Can Mulch

We've lived in our house for 25 years. When we moved in friends gave us a housewarming gift of a six foot tall maple tree. Hubby Tony and I figured out the tree's mature width, and planted it in the back yard appropriately close to the north side of the lot line. The small specimen took a lot of knocks from the three young boys that ran around the yard on a daily basis, serving as second base for baseball games, and home for games of tag.

But the tree grew. And so did the trees our neighbors planted. Now we're surrounded by mature leafy specimens.  And, at the end of the growing season those leaves turn beautiful colors.  Then they fall off.  The other day the lawn was nearly covered. In the front yard the leaves were red from the neighbor's tree. In the back yard they were yellow from our maple.

There was rain in the forecast, so I wanted to get the leaves off the grass before they turned into a wet, clumping mess. Instead of pulling out the rake, I reached for the lawn mower. 

It only took a couple of swipes before its mulching function turned the leaves into bits of colored leaf confetti.  Based on past experience, I know those chopped up bits will disintegrate and decompose into the ground.  When I was done my side of the grass was neat and clean.  There was a clear delineation between our yard and the neighbor's

Here's a Before and After shot of the areas:

Front yard----------------------------------Back yard

I put the mower away knowing that my work was just a temporary fix.  Both trees still have a substantial number of leaves left on the branches. Based on past experience we'll have  to repeat the process two or three more times before we can call it done.

Five years ago today: A Bittersweet Song For the Veteran's Day Holiday