Once A Year

Briefly, ever so briefly, there are times when I think how pleasant it would be to not have to rake leaves. That opportunity means no trees. Out of the question. I want my trees – the thirty foot tall English and Black walnuts, the fifty foot Lodgepole pine and sixty foot Douglas fir, and various twelve foot flowering shrubs and fruit trees, all grown from seeds or seedlings on my 50' by 150' lot within the last thirty-five years.
Still, I had moments when the leaves caused real pain. Like when I skinned my shins climbing up to clean the leaves from the shop roof. Wind swirls the desert dust and holds its breath to allow dirt to settle in the quiet space under the overhang on the shop roof. I can ignore that for the summer but when the leaves gather there that's a different ball of wax. Well, between the soil and the moisture held in the leaves there would be a veritable plant explosion come next spring. All manner of plants would sprout and a roof garden would emerge. An event I definitely do not want.
So I set up my ladders and up I go. The weather cooperated. Although the sun did not shine upon me, the temperature was pleasant enough to encourage working without a cumbersome jacket. I stretched from the top of my ladder with a rake to push the leaves off then I hosed down the roof. Nice job. Well done.
The leaves lay contentedly in heaps below. How tempting it is to let them lay there. Properly digested by roly poly bugs and millipeds and angleworms, leaves turn into soil, rich and nutritious to nurture new plants that burst from seeds alive with energy, excited about breaking into a brave, new world. Leaves make wonderful compost but in the desert that rarely happens because the animals that decompose will not do so unless there is moisture of some degree. And to make matters worse, the dry leaves piled around plants prevent dew or any other precipitation from getting to the roots. You see, in my desert less than six inches of rain falls during the year but plant leaves extirpate oxygen which cools to its liquid state and falls as dew during the exchange with carbon dioxide that the leaves absorb during the day.
I know those leaves will remain there. Inside my wonderfully protected back yard no wind that blows will take them away as it does in the open front yards of my neighbors. The burden is on me. What a good thing that I need exercise and will expend my energy to move the leaves into bags for the city to haul away. That, too, is not without pain but it will pass away. And you know what? Leaf removal is a one time job. Once a year I wonder about the wisdom of loving my trees. During the remainder of the year, I relish the shade, enjoy the variety of nature, and appreciate the magic of the seasons. Leaves come forth, develop, senesce, and finally drop at my feet, with nary a concern of their affect on my life. I accept that and act accordingly.
Naomi Sherer