Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Rake Your Leaves in Amarillo

When you rake leaves you are messing with the environment by adding to the pollution.  It's possible you use a leaf blower or vacuum (or your lawn guy does).  That adds to fuel pollution and noise pollution(nothing like the sound of a leaf blower on the one morning you get to sleep in). Or you bag them and toss them in the garbage and those leaves will sit in those garbage bags in a landfill.   So skip the lawn clean up this year for the sake of the environment and those that neighbord that sleep in on the weekends.  It will save you from the angry neighbor that runs out into the driveway screaming "SHUT UP" in their undone robe and underwear.

Certain creatures use those leaves for food, protection and to build nest.  Picture this, beautiful butterflies or busy moths working and living in their season.  They know their time is coming to a close and they find these beautiful  leaves hanging on a tree and they use them to lay their eggs in hopes of a future for their kind.  Then the leaves fall and these human rake, rake, rake, and those eggs are destroyed or dumped in a landfills to die.   Save a butterfly and save a moth and don't take away the home of a bird or a cute little squirrel who needs a leaf to block the rain from hitting his tiny little squirrel head or needs leaf blanket to bundle up with in the snow.  Don't rake.

Turn those old leaves into mulch for your gardens.  Why buy mulch every year when you can take your old leaves and store them in a giant trash can,  (I hear a weed eater is a good tool to crunch them up), for later.  When Spring rolls around you have mulch for your flower beds and you don't have to go and buy bags from the store.

When those leaves fall and they are already or about to fall, then leave them on your yard.  The leaves help prevent weeds and they also serve as fertilizer.   You might run them over with your lawnmower a few times with the mulching blade and just make sure the bag is off.  Isn't it amazing how nature works.  It uses its own dead to create more living.

Let's face it, jumping into a big pile of leaves is the best feeling in the world.  Just pile them up and run and jump over and over and over.  It brings joy, and with enough jumping, the leaves will eventually get mulched by body weight.  You have fun and skip a step as mentioned above.