Sunday, February 26, 2017

Leaf duty

Seeing the ringneck snake yesterday sent a small wave of concern over Jilda. It's not ringnecks that she was worried about, but copperheads and rattlesnakes.

I tend to let the leave stay in the yard over winter because the rotting leaves make the soil more fertile.  But when the sun warms the earth in late winter and early spring, the leaves make a perfect hiding place for the reptiles we'd rather not have on our doorsteps.

This morning after coffee and our walk, I fetched the wheelbarrow and the rake from the shed. It took almost two hours, but the leaves were relocated to the side yard. We'll use some for mulching the garden and what remains, we'll burn them on a windless day.

I didn't really see anything remarkable to photograph today so I had to go back through the archives. I came across a photo of the flag at a dairy bar next to the Black Warrior River.

It's been a beautiful weekend. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.



9 comments:

  1. Not sure I'd want to rake where snakes may be hiding, but I'm sure you know what you're doing. I used to have a mulching mower, shredded the leaves into a catcher and then I used as mulch around trees. It was easier than raking, but the leaves had to be dry.

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  2. I don't blame Jilda to be concerned about the copperhead. I would be too. I have a mulcher on my push lawn mower. The leaves and grass are mulched and become part of the soil very quickly as they decompose. I'm so glad we don't have poisonous snakes here. I'm a wimp when it comes to poisonous snakes.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  3. I don't like to rake but I did when I was a child. It was such fun to jump into a new big pile of crisp leaves.

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  4. On the warmer days we had last week I was itching to get out clearing leaves. I leave them on the flowerbeds for mulch and fertilizer too. The little daffodil leaves were growing right up through them. But had too much inside work to do so they remain in the beds and protecting the tender spring shoots.

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  5. True about the leaves and a good warm place for reptiles. BUT Emma above sure brings back memories....... Loved to dive into leaves@!!!!

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  6. Glad you didn't encounter any more snakes.

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  7. Anonymous6:05 PM

    Our flag is ALWAYS beautiful!!

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  8. Wonderful picture!
    Not long ago, my DIL came out one morning to discover the trail of a corn snake across her car's windshield. Not long after, she killed a copperhead near their front gate.

    I don't know if my heart's strong enough to become a country girl.

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  9. Nice flag shot not my flag but that's ok its yours, I would not go near leaves that may have snakes just saying

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