It's, it's ... the LEAVES of Autumn!!

When you live in Northern California, in an urban area, you don't have to worry overmuch about autumn leaves. There are a few, of course, but nothing like the seemingly endless deluge of leaves that happens here in Portland.

We have several, large maple trees on or next to our property, a couple of dogwood trees, several smaller Japanese maple trees and a plethora of woody bushes like hydrangeas, all of which lose their leaves in the autumn. If I were a little stronger and less wobbly on my legs, I'd be out there every day with the leaf blower or a rake or a broom, sweeping them up and depositing them in the green waste bins. As it is, I've done one clean-up in our driveway in the past week and that's been it.

Since then, the maples have begun to let go. The driveway is starting to look like we've carpeted it in yellow-and-brown, and the lawn out back is almost covered with leaves. David has been working nine or ten hours a day, doing all kinds of repairs and painting a friend's condo, so he's had neither the energy nor the inclination to run the lawnmower (and it's been raining on the few days he's even considered doing that).

If the weather holds on Monday, I plan to be out there with our trusty leaf blower to start tackling the LEAVES of Autumn. Let's hope it lasts; last year I burned out the motor on the leaf blower about 3/4's of the way through the season...

Change is a good thing, right?

So I've switched to the new Blogger Beta site.


Wish me luck.

My Muse

I got email from my friend Phil last week, asking why I hadn't written anything here for a while. One of the reasons for my absence was a packed social schedule that included a visit from one of my high school friends (which was a lot of fun, but, as always, very tiring as well).

Aside from the fatigue issue, though, I realized that my 'Muse' seemed to be on vacation, or at least taking an extended coffee break -- I just didn't seem to have much of interest (even to me!) to write about. Or, if I did think of something to write about, by the time I got to my desk and logged on to Blogger, whatever I'd thought to write about ended up seeming inane or boring or just not worth the effort.

I still kinda feel that way, so I assume my Muse is out somewhere, sipping a latte and enjoying the fall foliage. Or maybe she's stocking up on Hallowe'en candy? Or raking leaves and packing them into big paper bags for the green waste pick-up in her neighborhood. Whatever she's doing, it ain't got anything to do with me!