2026, Family, gardening, History, home, Nature, Uncategorized

Raking Leaves

15 Comments

Where is it written that people have to rake the leaves off of their lawns every fall, so that no leaves remain? We have neighbors here in MN and had neighbors in ND who worked daily in the fall to remove any traces of leaves. We are not raking people.

In our ND town the City was of no help to people who needed leaves hauled away. People had to haul them away to the landfill themselves. Of course, this was the City that wouldn’t remove snow from residential streets unless 4 or more inches had fallen. (It’s going to melt eventually anyway, and we don’t have it in our budget to plow anything but major arteries.)

Luverne has a much different attitude about this. I attribute it to the proximity to Northwest Iowa and a Dutch influence regarding neatness. The other day while it was raining we saw several street sweeping machines washing streets. The City sends out leaf suckeruppers several days in October and November to remove leaves that residents have swept into the gutter. Snow of any amount is also plowed up.

We like to leave the leaves for ground cover and pollinators. We sweep up leaves that collect on the sidewalk or deck, though. I remember the smell of burning leaves in the fall when I was a child, and loved it when my mom and dad would make leaf piles for me to jump in. Leaf burning is illegal now, I think. I am glad we have better things to do now than rake.

What are your leaf raking, leaf jumping memories? Are you a raker?

15 thoughts on “Raking Leaves”

  1. My freshman year at Carleton, while we were walking behind the library on the way to the homecoming game, a couple of friends of mine, (including future wasband #1), came across a hollow that was filled with leaves. We supplemented a smidge and jumped in and threw the leaves around for a little bit. It was fun and then we went onto the homecoming game, which of course Carlton lost big time. Then the next year, one of those friends and I were walking across campus and for some reason, decided that we needed to make another leaf pile on jump in so we started raking the leaves up with our hands and feet. Several other students joined us and we had a great old time. When wasband and I moved back to the Twin Cities after a two-years stint in Milwaukee, we recreated the leaf pile for many years. I’d pick out a spot somewhere around one of the lakes and we’d meet there and make a big pile and of course jump in and fling the leaves around. Then back to our house for potluck. Quit doing this when YA was about 10. The city started doing a more aggressive job of cleaning up leaves around the lakes and we ran into three years in a row where the weather was just wretched. Those years we just had the potluck without the pile. Every fall I think about whether I should try to revive this tradition, but I never do.

    We’ve always raked some because our house seems to be a vortex of leaf accumulation every fall. Truly, I’ve counted bags out in front of houses for years and we always have 2 to 3 times more. Not sure why. However, the advent of the electric lawnmower several years ago with the bag on it has changed that. YA likes to run over the leaves in the back a few times during the fall. She’s not rabid about it and I’m fine with leaving some leaves for the critters.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. We have a lawn mower…that chops them up well.

    Never bagged. Not sure I ever remember burning.
    Have raked up a few piles. We use the leave blower to keep them off the deck and off the landscaping rock around the deck.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. I like to “leave the leaves” for the critters.

    Growing up in western Iowa, there weren’t big piles (but boy did we have snow). I did rake up plenty when s&h was a toddler, but our yard was out grown pretty quickly. His elementary school had a bonfire during fall fest, weather and wind permitting. Seems so long ago and almost impossible now.

    I do remember taking the trash out to burn as a child bin in an old oil drum. Again, seems impossible now .

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. I have some great photos of toddler Joel and my folks lying back on the large leaf piles in our Robbinsdale back yard. Fun memories.

    We bag up what covers the driveway in back, but otherwise I try to convince Husband to wait till spring, for the critters. We can take them to Winona’s yard waste site not far from here.

    Winona is trying several things to keep leaves out of the storm drains, since “Whatever goes into the storm drain in Winona will end up in Lake Winona or the Mississippi River.”
    This is info about the yard compost site: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1543744041127128&set=a.585261850308690

    They also have a new program called “Adopt-a-drain”, where residents can sign up to keep clear a drain of their choice… I plan to sign up for one on my walk route.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. I let the street sweepers take some of the leaves. I have three large red maples and a white ash on the boulevard, so the streets and sidewalks get lots of leaves.

    I have an unlandscaped backyard where the raspberries grow, and there is a winding path to the back steps. I dump most of the other leaves in that area. Sometimes I use a leaf vac around the driveway and garage area, and the leaves come out sort of shredded, so they make good mulch. A layer of mulched leaves over the path keeps the weed growth down.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  7. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I have never seen the point of raking leaves. The minute they are bagged, the wind blows and the yard is again full of them. I pile them on the flower gardens, then mulch the rest with the mower. The little bits compost themselves. The flower gardens trap the whole leaves there and insulate the bed for the winter.

    When I was a kid, and before burning bans, mom would rake them into a pile, light it on fire, and we would roast hotdogs and marshmallows. That was fun.

    MIG was right about the amount of snow in Western Iowa (as well as SW Minnesota). It was a lot and the drifting, driven by wind, was magnificent.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. I have “raked” together a unique circumstance.
    Today, October 21,
    is Back To the Future Day.
    The 1985 film features character Marty McFly going back from October 21, 1955 to October 21, 1985, traveling in a Delorian time machine.
    History gets changed a bit. Great movie.
    In the 1989 sequel, Back To The Future Part 2, history is changed a lot!
    Worth watching to see the craziness.
    In that film, the protagonist to the hero, Marty McFly, is Biff Tannen.
    The character of Biff was deliberetly written based on Donald Trump’s character and actions.
    Watch and see Back To The Future Part Two.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a Reply