Bringing in the Leaves

Leaf truck and vacuum, but not from Manassas. This does look like our corner of the world, though.

The neighborhood we live in has a number of mature 100 year-plus maples and oaks. They're one of the reasons we bought the house 25 years ago. In the spring, their leaves are a golden green; in the summer, they furnish cool shade; in the fall, a flaming display of reds and oranges and yellow. And yes, they fall to the ground and must be blown or raked to the curb to be gathered up by the great roaring leaf truck run by the City of Manassas.

I supposed the suburban homeowner could let the leaves lie, but no one does. Every lot is cleaned of its annual leaffall and the great long leafbarrows taken up by the huge vacuum hose. The streets left behind are pristine, and so we are ready for winter. It's part of a suburban cycle as sure as the harvest of rural areas.