This little leaf somehow recognized another ‘leaf’ and thought it would stay awhile. Do you see Scout?
At this time of year, the theme around here seems to be: Leaves. Whether they are on the ground (and they are – everywhere) or in the gutters or in the birdbath, we are surrounded by leaves.
Here’s Don on the roof, clearing out the gutters. We have to do this a lot in the fall, especially when rain is in the forecast.
Our maple has suddenly lost almost all of its uppermost leaves.
How did that happen?
You notice that Don is on the roof, not me. That’s as it should be. I hold the ladder. I hand up tools, like brooms and rakes. I’m a wee bit afraid of heights. If I had to, I’d do it, but Don is willing, so I happily let him go up there.
So much raking ahead. Every time we start in on it, it begins to rain and we have to stop. Or my arms get tired. That happens frequently.
This is my favorite. No amount of tweaking or styling could arrange these leaves more spectacularly than my friend, Mother Nature, has done. For free.
Happy Sunday.
Linking to my friend, Elaine’s Sunny Simple Sunday.
MHC now has a Facebook Page. If you’d like to, drop by and say hello! Maybe you could click on ‘like?’
Glad you’re holding the ladder Claudia! You’re way ahead of the leaf game. We’ll be out in our winter coats by the time we get to the yard work. The leaves here in Michigan are just starting to change color and we have one tree that doesn’t shed it’s leaves until November! Your home and area are beautiful! I long one day to live in a cottage in the country!
Look at these amazing leaves! We aren’t there yet! hugs, LInda
Your leaves are beautiful! I really love how they look in the birdbath. Our leaves were falling like rain yesterday in the wind. Today in VA it is a little rainy. We leave them on the ground in the flower beds for protection until early Spring. I, too am the ladder holder, do not like heights at all, thankfully my husband will climb onto the roof.
We leave them in our garden beds, too.
This may sound stupid, but why not just leave the layer of leaves to mulch your grass? I think they’re so pretty scattered across your yard in their many fall colors.
Brenda
The grass doesn’t need to be mulched. I do leave them on the garden beds until Spring.
We are surrounded by trees too, which means lots of leaves this time of year. We have giant sycamores in our front yard, and those leave a thick carpet of leaves. They are messy, but they are beautiful at the same time.
I am a bit afraid of heights too. And in high school, I was a spring board diver. Go figure!
XO Kris
Yikes! Afraid of heights and a diver!
That is a big tree next to your house. Seeing your husband on the roof reminds me of my husband. When we had the roof fixed he climbed up a few too many times and is still having problems with his hip.
The pictures are beautiful. I love fall but it can be alot of work.
Have a good Sunday Claudia.
Thanks, Debby. You, too.
You have such a beautiful yard and the gardener is pretty cute too. ;) Love the shot of the bird bath. Thankfully our biggest trees are evergreens. Our apple trees still have mainly green leaves even after two heavy, heavy frosts. It’s a beautiful time of year — even with the extra work! :)
Your home is so beautiful at this time of year! The leaves are coming down fast and furious here and raking will become my full time job for the next few weeks. Could you send Don over to clean out my eavetroughs?
Sure. Although I don’t know whether he’ll go for that as he’s nestled into the living room sofa at the moment.
You have so many leaves!! Do you ever get them completely raked up? Wow!! Tell Don to be careful up there on that roof. When John gets up to clean out our gutters, the older lady across the street watches out her front window like a hawk. She says she has her cell phone in her hand and has already dialed 911, just waiting to hit the send button. Ha. But, at least I know someone is watching over him. He has a habit of doing that when I’m gone because it makes me so nervous. Good luck.
Love your leaf door knocker – is that what it is?
Judy
Yes, it is a door knocker, Judy. We had it on the door of our rental when we first moved out east. Then when we moved here, we couldn’t use it as our door is metal. I found it in a box this year and decided it needed to be used, so now it’s attached to our porch post.
I caught Don going up on the roof once when I wasn’t there to spot him and he got an earful from me!
You tell John to be careful!
xo
Claudia, I love your door knocker – and I do see Scout. ♥
Wow, look at the leaves. You are weeks ahead of us. Ours are just now beginning to drop a few here and there. Not much color until the end of the month.
Such beautiful leaves in your yard / on your trees =). Our leaves are falling, too, but they have been all summer because of heat stress combined with drought. Poor trees.
I love the picture of the leaves in the birdbath.
All nice pics but you are sure right about that last one. Gorgeous!
We have big leaf maples some get to 2 feet across some people like to try for the record mostly they are 12 inches or less. I mow mine and make leaf mulch to use in the compost and for mulching plants. Nice pictures the door knocker is real nice.
The birdbath shot is wonderful!
Is that maple tree okay? It looks like quite a huge hole at the bottom of that major leader.
It looks like a big hole, but it’s actually where we lost a huge limb during Hurricane Irene. The bark is much darker there.
Claudia – I need a Don! I have a huge maple in our front yard and so the gutters end up overflowing. I guess I’ll be hiring someone in a couple of weeks to clean them out. I’m afraid of heights too but really afraid, so you’ll never see me up there. You are a lucky girl. J
Yes, I am. Although we wonder how much we’re going to like climbing up there in a few years…..
Claudia, I’ve enjoyed your shots of the trees changing in your yard. Living in So Cal we forget out quickly they change. The weather here has cooled down drastically, and people are dressing in cooler clothes finally! We are all set to have some rain this week, thank goodness. It’s been far too dry here for far too long. I love that door knocker.
Our trees had most of the leaves on them until a few days ago. This weekend we’ve experienced an early COLD FRONT for October in Texas… strange weather we’ve had this year. We may not get a proper Fall, if you know what I mean.
I love the colors of all your leaves…very vibrant!
Pat
I have 1/50th of the yard and I use a blower, then a rake…you guys only rake?
Then my hats off to you, and I take a deep bow lol
I miss beautiful falling leaves, I even miss raking.
Love you,
Mere
Come visit! You can help me rake. Really.
Dear Claudia,-
what beautiful photoes, I see all your leaves are still there :-)
And read the rain is making it impossible for you, to get rid of-
Well ,the same here- sun-rain-sun-rain!!!
Your white plate with the leaves, photo is just amazingly beautiful,
I agree, only nature could do that.
Hugs,Dorthe
I miss falling leaves! When I was about 12, I raked a pile in our backyard and then did a running jump slide into them and wound up having a twig scrape my upper leg (I still have a scar). I used to jump off the roofs of houses at that time, too. What was I thinking? Probably why I have two bum knees. :) Best wishes to you, Tammy
I remember kids jumping off the roof into leaves. Yikes!
Such a beautiful yard you have Claudia, I love this time of year :)
Lori
p.s. you have inspired me….i am going to make your crochet garland to hang in my kitchen windows, just finished painting and redoing our cupboards, purchased natural/cream ticking curtains with tiebacks, the windows now need something to fill in the space I will make them quite small….thanks for the idea :)
Oh, wonderful, Lori! Send me a photo when you’re done!
Hi Claudia,
That last picture of the birdbath is simply beautiful, the colours, the textures, the shapes….leave it to Mother Nature, as you said, to create the finest vignette of all!
Have a great week.
Poppy
My dear Claudia, I must share this LEAF story! :) When I had a house w/ a fenced yard, I had this belief: leave the leaves alone! I don’t like them on pavement, because they’re slippery, but completely enclosed in the yard like that – ahh, why rake? Leave them be! So I was out in my yard one day w/ my dogs & was talking to a neighbor across the fence … he was raking … and I insisted – dump your leaves in my yard – go on! I love leaves in my yard! Well, he thought that was brilliant – no more having to buy leaf bags, you see. About a half hour later, I’m in my kitchen and I hear a woman screaming – HENRY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?! I had to run out there and assure the Mrs. that her husband was just fine and that – really! I TOLD him to dump his leaves over the fence ! I don’t think the woman has recovered yet ;)
That’s such a great story, Jeannee! Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures. We have beautiful color coming into its own now. I too have a birdbath which gets filled with leaves. I have never looked at it as you do. It was always “got to clean the birdbath. Maybe I should move it to the middle of the backyard”. Now I see it in a new way. Thanks. (I still have to clean it and fill it with water, but I will enjoy it a few minutes now.
I eventually took the leaves out, but not until I’d taken that photo. Hopefully, tonight’s rain will fill it with fresh water.
Truly, you need a leaf blower. Hubs dispenses with them in a few minutes with the blower, but ours is a small yard. But well worth the money, sugar, well worth it!
I see Scout, wondering when that leaf is going to fall off. :-)
xoxo,
Connie
Our yard is too big. We’d still have to find put them on a tarp and carry them to the woods.
No raking for me..Bilateral rotator cuff surgery..I mow them..They’re my neighbors trees!!
Your yard looks beautiful, Claudia. Our leaves are just now really starting to change.
Hugs,
Laura
Hi Claudia,
There is such beauty in the fallen leaves…It makes a spectacular quilt display across your lawn. I love the usering in of Fall….yet, I always feel just a twinge of sadness as I see the bare bones of the trees.
Your brave hubby is looking very attractive up on that roof. How nice that he is so handy. Whenever my hubby vacumns or does the dishes I always remind him that he never looked more attractive. He always rolls his eyes and blushes.
Have a happy week, my friend,
Blessings,
Carolynn
Scout’s hiding!! That tree does look funny with only its bloomers on…. : )
We tend to leave the leaves (ha!) on the ground — neither of us like raking and it sets me to sneezing so they just stay on the ground for the duration!
We had gutter guards installed when we had a new roof put on a few years ago and are very happy we did! Our leaves are just now turning color and starting to drop. I collect them and mulch my garden beds with them – free mulch but a lot of work!
I gave Corey a big smooch from you :)
The bird bath is lovely. In my house it’s me high up on the roof or tree and my husband is holding the ladder because he is affraid of heights. So it’s not how it should be. ;-)
I love those pictures, Claudia. I have to clean my gutters as well although some a just too high for me to manage. (My neighbor likens it to Wing-Walking….) It’s a bit hair-raising but as you said when the rains come, you’re glad the job is done so you won’t have leaks in the house. Wishing you a lovely fall weekend, playing in the leaves with Scout!