By Tim King

Special to the Leader

   If leaves were money, I’d be one of the richest people in town. Unfortunately, leaves cannot be used as currency, so I find myself instead being one of the busiest people in town. I am blessed to have several large oak, maple, pine, birch and ash trees in my yard and this is the time of year when they remind me who’s the boss…and it ain’t me.

   It started a few weeks ago with a bombardment of quarter-sized acorns from the oaks, followed by a deluge of maple leaves, pine cones and needles. It was like the trees conspired on how they would attack – first we’ll get him with a bombardment of hard, pointy acorns in order to force him indoors. Next, with every breath of wind, we’ll endlessly send pine needles down to blanket his lawn and stunt the growth of the grass. 

   Finally, we’ll dazzle him into submission with a kaleidoscope of colors while slowly and steadily smothering every inch of the property with leaves of red, yellow, orange and green.

   Having spent the summer months collecting sunshine and moisture, this is the time of year when leaves make the jump into eternity. I think trees are the model of efficiency in this way. After the leaves have done their job collecting energy, they unselfishly succumb to the circle of life and fall to the ground to provide warmth, protection and nutrients for the next generation.

   Yes, leaves really are a great source of nutrition for your landscape. I like to make a few passes with my mower in order to chew up leaves so that they can dissipate back into the ground without suffocating the grass. If possible, I let the chopped up leaves sit on the lawn for a couple days so that the tiniest pieces can find their way into the soil before it freezes.

   As I mentioned earlier, because of the different varieties of trees in my yard, I am blessed and at the same time cursed by leaves that fall at different times in the year. In a way, it’s a good thing because I’m never totally overwhelmed by them, but at the same time I seem to never be finished with the job. How I wish for snow in late November! Only then, when the leaves are covered with snow, can I hang up my rake for the season.

    I know there are those that sometimes wish for more trees in their yards. I hear stories about others who don’t need to cover their pool in the winter because there is very little risk of anything but rain and snow falling in there. And on more than one occasion, I’ve seen people taking leaves from the recycling center. Apparently, they aren’t lucky enough to have their own supply to properly protect their plants or feed their compost piles.

   On the other hand, I have no such problem. My compost pile is heaped full and all of my garden beds get a warm blanket of leaves to help them weather the cold winter. Even after shredding and distributing them throughout my yard, I still find myself having to take several trips to the recycling center in my pickup. No matter how quickly or diligently I work at it, every morning I am once again greeted by a new collection of fallen leaves.

   Like shoveling sand against the tide, I’d be a fool to believe that I’ll ever be able to collect and dispose of every leave. After many years of trying, I can finally now accept this fact. 

   After all, if leaves weren’t designed to disappear on their own, our forests would be overflowing with them. Can you imagine? Year after year, millions of leaves are dropped to the ground and remained piled on top of one another, steadily rising until they meet with the branches that just released them. If this were to happen, not only would it be impossible to walk in a forest, it would be impossible for anything else to live there too. 

   Now that I think about it, the trees themselves would probably end up suffocating and dieing. In other words, the survival of trees depends on the fact that its descendants do not last forever.

   Each and every one of us has a finite amount of time to feel the warm glow of sunshine, provide for our families and ultimately float into another existence – forever. Truly, as the song adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible sings, “For everything, there is a season. A time to plant, a time to reap. A time to laugh, a time to weep. A time to love, a time to hate. A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.” 

   This year, I’ve made my peace with the leaves and the annual workout they put me through. They are merely taking their next step towards eternity. And they’ll get there with or without my help.

   Tim King is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association who sees the forest and the trees from his home in Scarborough. He can be contacted at sylvan.sauntering@gmail.com.