Several years ago, before the Butcher from Pittsburgh arrived, this is what a fall afternoon looked like, from the vantage point of my barn, looking toward the street where I live.
My house (and trees) are on the right side of the image. At the front of the neighbor's property is one of the two ginkgo trees that used to grace the neighborhood with bright golden yellow leaves each fall/autumn.
Sigh. . .
Post Script (3:36 PM): I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this, but Mike is out in the alley, raking up all my oak, beech and serviceberry leaves that fell onto his grass. What the hell, and who am I kidding?! I'm chortling inside, all the while typing in a darkened room so that he can't see me sitting here, laughing my considerable - - - off.
God, I am such a mean-spirited so-and-so this afternoon. Please forgive my poor attitude.
Or not!
PPS: As penance for my glee at Mike's burden (they are my leaves, and I should have been the one raking them from against his fence...I guess), I scrubbed the toilet/WC, a job I hate with a passion that rivals my lust for chocolate. I'm not Catholic, but I might as well have been. I've got Catholic guilt. Well, damn, now I have to do penance for that! Will it never stop today?!?
Beats being depressed, though...with a stick!
(c) 2009 Text and images, Martha McLemore
18 comments:
He cut down that gingko and the trees next to it? Because he didn't feel like raking??
I'm chortling with you at the idea of him still having to rake. That first photo is gorgeous. It's a damned shame that people can't realize that views like that are one of the important things in life.
Kali:
Yep, there were 7 big old trees in his yard - the two ginkgo, a maple, an oak and some larches. His trees arched over to meet mine above the alley. The birds, squirrels and other climbing animals used the trees as a multi-lane super highway for getting around this end of the neighborhood. We all miss the trees.
Fortunately, my trees drop enough leaves for all of us to enjoy.
:D
Anybody who'd cut down a tree just so he didn't have to rake the leaves deserves more than being laughed at. I'd advise siccing the squirrels on him.
As ye sow... so they say.
Have you tried denture tablets in the wc? I haven't, but it is supposed to work.
Susan:
I had trained a squirrel to eat from my hand a few years ago, but I haven't seen Benny for quite some time. Now that was a squirrel that could have organized a posse and ridden the B of P out of town on a rail.
:D
Dear Zhoen:
I use denture tablets in my teapots every so often, and they work like the proverbial charm.
Something tells me I shouldn't gloat over Mike raking up the leaves from my trees...sort of a nagging suspicion that I'm going to pay for every giggle I make at his expense. Maybe it won't be so bad if I quit before midnight.
:)
too bad about the loss of gorgeous trees and ain't the raking just a damn shame...
as for Catholic guilt... from a recovering Catholic, as long as you don't get a scrap of enjoyment out of what you are doing, you have no need to be guilty.
Harlequin:
Ah, there's the rub: I'm getting quite a kick out of him raking my leaves. The ghosts of his trees are laughing, too.
I hope what I wrote about Catholic guilt did not offend you. I grew up with, lived with, went to school with, was best friends with, and married a Catholic. I have observed the phenomenon up close.
:)
Never understood the need to rake up leaves - they rot down and make excellent compost for the grass!
What's this about scrubbing your toilet? How dirty was it? No, I don't want to know. Or are you renting it out to the neighbours?
Mrs BB's biggest loathing is the inside of the oven. I seem to recall, while in Pa, having a neighbour give me a demo of his new self-cleaning oven. You closed the door, turned a button which increased the temperature to something like Mt Etna, and left it for 90 mins. It did the job but what on earth did it cost?
BB:
I am visited every day by a teenage boy whose aim is nowhere as good as his intentions.
Scrubbing in this instance is not the same as scrubbing a floor, say, on hands and knees with a stiff bristle brush. This was virtual scrubbing, for serving penance (not).
I'm with Mrs. BB about cleaning the oven. However, now that you mention it, I think there is an auto-clean feature on my oven. I've never used it.
Ah, now that's what I'd like to see someone invent: a self-cleaning toilet.
:)
Steve: It isn't the raking I enjoy most, but the aroma of drying leaves stirred up by the raking. Also, the physical action of raking seems a requirement for enjoying the season.
(Plus, I like to fall into a huge pile of leaves, though I try not to do that when there are neighbors about. They already think I'm wacky because I whistle down the crows.)
:)
That's the spirit!
Spadoman:
Yeah, but I'm going to pay for this, I just know it. I can feel it coming...tee-hee.
:D
Mike sounds a kindred spirit to our Charmless Dutch Bulb Growing Neighbour, who regularly berates us, and other neighbours, for allowing weeds to grow in our own gardens!
His aim being nowhere near as good as his intentions made me chuckle.
Hello, Lucy:
If the borough didn't have a regulation (with fines) about how high your grass can be, I'd let my front yard turn into prairie. The only thing I would keep out is poison ivy.
I'm glad you chuckled.
:)
Absolutely gorgeous where you are. If you could bottle that light and sell it I'd sure as shart be buying. You're doing the world a favour, sharing leaves and all.
xo
erin
Hello, Erin:
Not so sure my neighbor sees it that way, but I try to do my part.
:)
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