Scenic Sunday

Sugar Maples
Rogersville, Alabama

GATHERING LEAVES

by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer

Running away.

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?

Our yard has suddenly become crackly and crunchy. The time of leaf gathering in our neighborhood has begun in earnest, yet I am waiting for them all to fall. Why do the job 3 times or more when I can do it once? Actually, we are going to use the mulching mower and shred those delightful leaves into mulch for the ground beneath which begs for nutrients. Last year I counted no less than a dozen really odd mushrooms, and the soil is packed down and coated with green. Time to send some scoops of soil to Auburn for evaluation to see what it's lacking and what's needed to replenish it. In the meantime, God's bountiful gift from His trees are a good beginning. Happy Autumn!

Be sure to stop by Scenic Sunday to see more lovely sights from around the world!