Liz versus the leaves

[edenfalling]

So today I filled fifteen of those big Lowes yard waste bags with dead leaves.

Usually Landlord Dude takes card of yardwork around the house, but this year (presumably because of his back and shoulder problems) he never came by to deal with all the fallen leaves. I finally got sick of them sitting in massive drifts all over the yard, so yesterday I went to Lowes and bought a rake and a five-pack of the paper yard waste bags. Today I filled the first five, looked at the giant piles of leaves still waiting for my attention, said "argh," went and bought two more five-packs, and filled those as well. And there are still leaves sitting around in piles!

Ithaca picks up yard waste on the weeks opposite recycling pickup, except in November when they pick up leaves every week. Unfortunately, I did not know the November exception, and since our last November trash pickup just happened at 4am this morning... oops. It is apparently possible to cart the waste down to the county's solid waste facility, but I am unclear on what, if anything, that might cost, not to mention I won't have a car after Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, Downstairs Neighbor S has a friend who lives out in the country and has a huge garden, for which she is always seeking leaves to use as overwinter mulch. So she's going to come by on Tuesday or Wednesday, load my fifteen bags of leaves into a borrowed truck, and make them disappear. Victory!

I think I will leave a note for Upstairs Neighbors T & E asking them to buy another set of waste bags and deal with the remaining leaf piles in the side yard. It's not absolutely necessary, but I hate leaving jobs unfinished. And the bags only cost about $2 for a five-pack.

(After that, I may ask Landlord Dude for a slight reduction on my next month's rent payment, because ouch, that was a lot of work, not to mention it was at my own expense...)

Comments

[via_ostiense]

load my fifteen bags of leaves into a borrowed truck, and make them disappear

That must be an enormous garden! I'm envious - what does she grow?

[edenfalling]

I don't know, but I suspect vegetables of some sort -- small-scale organic farming is very big in the Finger Lakes, particularly near Ithaca.

[transposable_element]

My husband and daughter climbed up on the roof Sunday and swept off a big pile of leaves. The yard waste bin was full, so we still have them, but I hadn't thought of using them as mulch. Here we need mulch more during the dry season to prevent moisture evaporation, but if we put it down now it will still be there (mostly) in the spring...

Anyway, it certainly sounds like you deserve a break on the rent!

[edenfalling]

Ugh, leaves on roofs. :-( Well, at least they're easier to deal with than moss and lichen on roofs. If you decide to use them as mulch, I hope they last through the winter!