Grab a Rake and Have Some Fun

I love the leaves upon the trees

and as they're falling in the breeze;

and when they pile upon the ground,

I love their crinkly, crunchy sound

beneath my feet!

When I was a child, I liked to visit my grandmother's house in autumn. Her house was perched up on a hill, and there was a large rock retaining wall at the bottom. The grown-ups would rake mountains of leaves in front of the wall, and we children would take flying leaps off the top of the wall into them. I'm sure we undid most of the adults' hard work; but there was lots of laughter, and I don't remember anyone complaining. I was nearly an adult myself before I discovered that many people consider raking a chore and not a game.

I maintain a positive attitude about fallen leaves. They make excellent mulch, and I generally let them lie in the woodlands. We do rake them off the lawn and the paths. My neighbor gave us the lightweight Trooper rake seen in the photo above. It is 30 inches wide and does a terrific job.

I was out raking just a few days ago. It was a perfect day, and the fall foliage of my Japanese maples was at its peak. Here are some photos which illustrate why these are among my favorite trees:

After admiring the Japanese maples, I headed for the woodland garden:I like to keep the leaves off the moss paths, so the moss will grow better. While I was raking I noticed the woodland pot I nestled in an old rotting stump. The pretty leaves sprinkled all around reminded me of rose petals:

The leaves are falling from euonymus alata shrubs, aptly called burning bush:

Guess what's inside the pot:

A warning about burning bush:  Although I have never seen any seedlings in my own garden and in fact one of the original five I planted died and had to be replaced, this is considered an invasive species and is even banned in some areas.

After raking the moss paths I studied the results:One could argue whether this is a before or after photo!

I was glowing with satisfaction when a shower of leaves fluttered down in front of me. I laughed. One can't get too serious about raking my yard, but I will keep at it. If I waited till all the leaves were off the trees, I would be wading through over a foot of foliage. Now that would take real work to clear!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and remember this: Raking leaves can burn nearly 300 calories per hour, so if you are feeling guilty about that extra serving of turkey dressing, grab a rake and have some fun!

Appalachian Roots

Though he lived most of his life in large cities and traveled over much of the United States, my father always said he was a Tennessee hillbilly. Over three hundred years ago his ancestors settled into the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, and I, too, can feel the strong pull of heritage when I visit the region.

Earlier this week I was in the Smokey Mountains, so named for the fog which drapes over the ancient hills. A mist is created by the rapid cooling of moist coastal air as it reaches the higher elevations of the Southern Appalachians, and this causes the typical smokey appearance.

Perhaps my affection for the earth and living things comes from roots which spread through these mountains. It is easy to fall in love with the Smokies, with their gentle slopes and wide diversity of plant and wild life. I took all of these photos in and around the area known as Cades Cove, originally a farming community nestled in the mountains of Tennessee. Now human history and nature are preserved by the national park system and enjoyed by visitors throughout the year.

Do we all feel a tug when we visit the land of our ancestors? Do roots run through the generations, connecting us to the soil of our forefathers? I think maybe so.