The leaves aren't falling yet....

*sigh* you guys started talking about your nuts and you got my thread kicked down to just north of the can

According to Thomas Jefferson, Washington could crack walnuts with his bare hands.

Dom & I share the same cheapo wood guy , plus I have another (who also is bringing me pallets ) At $100 or so a load, it's not worth it to scrounge everything. I've got enough "to big to fit in either stove" that needs to be resplit, plus 2 humungous oak trees that I has taken down (for a ridiculous price), that still have to be processed. Luckily I have a borrowed splitter coming in soon, and I'll have it for a few weeks, so everything will get done.

Plus a neighbor who've I've known since I was a kid has 2 trees (oak) down & cut in her yard, and she asked me if I wanted it in return for giving her split wood in exchange (done deal !!). She just burns in her FP. I'll load up some of my stuff, unload & stack for her, them load up her stuff, bring it home, & split it.

At that point, I shu;d be good to go for a few years, and can just buy a few cords a year, and process what ever the carpenter ants are killing. Plus, the girls have a another heavily wooded acre that needs tree work. We'll be good to go for quite a while.

Only one way I know of to get a grip like that. That oughta get this thread kicked to the can. A C

I can still see my father cracking English walnuts by the fireplace and throwing the hulls in the fire. We got him a grocery sack full for Christmas every year.
He could crack a single walnut with his bare hand...and a kids skull for misbehaving as well...

I have 2 large big leaf maples in my front yard, and the neighboring properties have more big leaf maples and alders. When the leaves are really dropping my front yard can be under a foot of leaves in less than 48 hours.


I inherited my grandparents' old riding mower that's probably as old as I am. It's overkill for just mowing the grass in my small yard, so I only pull it out of the garage when I need a leaf harvester.




I just scatter the chopped up leaves in the woods behind the house.

naw, that mower is older than it looks...you can't see the team of horses pulling it from that angle. Thats also not a cup holder...that's where you're supposed to keep your rifle....for fighting off bandits.

We used to do leaf removal at a cemetery. The leaves would be 18 inches deep before we blew them into windrows to vacuum up. Next to weedeating a cemetery, leave removal is the next most evil part of that job.

Isaw the lineup of stoves at Lowes on tax holiday weekend, and the local mulch/wood/coal/etc yard has the huge mountain of wood out by the street. Signs of the times.

I LOVE fall. A couple weekends of raking is a nice change of pace from months of mowing. Apple picking, mulled cider, turkey day, football. Love it all. My favorite time of year. One more work trip and then nothing but fall and the holidays to look forward to.

On the wood front I'm looking at my best stack yet, and much of this years I got free and hand split due to the neighbors Irene trees. Still at least a cord left to split come fall, should get me through 13/14 burning. Probably be back to buying wood after that runs out, don't have the space or equipment to scrounge full time.

Autumn leaves--love em. I wait until end of November, the wind will blow a lot away, then go over the rest with the riding mower, and then use the bagger to vacuum them up for the compost heaps. Come spring I have lovely mulch and the start of some of the best compost I have ever used.

If I bagged my leaves (and my walnuts), there would likely be a national shortage of trash bags.

The first "big" purchase in the new house was a Little Wonder blower. Second was a handheld Echo blower, to blow leaves out of the gardens, and feed the Little Wonder.

Amazing what the bigger LW's will push.

Ultra-Vac's ...



Leaf Plows ...



and Truck Loaders!



Oh My!

Cool nights, but no heat needed yet. Be wearing real clothes soon- this is my favorite time of year.