Fallen fall leaves
October 22nd
It is a mess. A wet, ugly, unwieldy, slimy mess. And it is a backbreaking chore to bring any semblance of order with this mess covering every square inch of my garden.
I am not trendy. Actually — I make a point to buckle the trends. Especially modern and popular trends among wide swaths of the population. And there has been a trend over the years to plant A LOT of evergreen trees in gardens and public spaces. It makes sense — trees stay green and bring needed color to the drabness of fall and winter. Also, there is no need to rake and collect and get rid of the leaves that fall in the autumn. I do have some beautiful evergreen trees in my garden. Some I planted myself, some a remembrance of my grandfather, who planted them over decades of the last century. But most of the trees in my garden are deciduous, and all the new trees I planted over the last years are of that type.
The last several days were already like the peak autumn — the temperature overnight falls below zero, and during the day barely raises to 5–6 degrees Celsius. It’s been overcast for days as well, and steady rain comes down daily. That nasty, unpleasant weather already makes waking and getting up more difficult by the day. And makes the warm and comfortable bed so inviting with all the blankets just waiting and calling me to get underneath them. Even during the day, and quite possibly more so during the day — this is the perfect time of the year for mid-morning or mid-afternoon naps. Or just constant naps all the time.
But once in a while, I need to spend a day outside, in near-freezing temperatures and steady drizzle. Actually, today it felt that the rain wasn't just falling down. The rain so completely expanded itself in the atmosphere that it felt like it was encompassing everything in and from every direction. And in all that today, there was me — in my trusty and well-worn but still threadfull hoodie, briskly moving to keep and stay warm. Raking all the wet, slimy and messy leaves, putting them in bags for collection next week. Of course, I leave some leaves between trees and grasses and shrubs as a natural fertilizer for all that grows there. And there is a special pile of leaves I make and leave untouched every year in the back corner of my garden. Its special purpose is to make a winter shelter for hedgehogs, which I see occasionally moving around my garden and especially in that corner area. I don't know if any hedgehog will use it, or have used it over the previous years I made this pile, but I like to think so. Thoughts like that give me internal warmth sorely needed in the upcoming months.
