Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 23, 2022

I personally hate leaf blowers, but I finally had to get one because it is the only way to efficiently get leaves off of the rock garden.

Higher speeds than a hurricane and about the same amount of noise.

Last hurricane was noticeably quieter. didn’t even hear the tree getting blown over.

It’s called a rake. I still use one, to rake my leaves into big piles, then I use the vacuum to suck them up and shred them.

I chop them with the mower. I have a lot less now that there are less trees.

In Michigan, we had tons, raked them onto tarps and dumped them along the curb. After most of them were down, the city would come around with modified front end loaders and dump trucks to take them away. Leaf drop put an end to riding my bicycle to work since the streets became too dangerous.Here, I just let the mower guy run over the few we have.

Mulching mower.

Much quieter.

In our area ‘leaf movers’ are almost as bad as any insect or invasive plant. Their idea is to get in as many yards as possible during the season, so the blower is the answer. Concern for flower beds and shrubs doesn’t enter into it.

They call themselves ‘landscapers.’ That should be revised to read land-scrapers. We have learned from painful experience never to put down seed, mulch, or fertilizer in the fall. Talk about dollars ‘blowing in the wind,’ that’s a perfect example.

At least one hurricane has hit 200 mph:“On April 10, 1996, Tropical Cyclone Olivia (a hurricane) passed by Barrow Island, Australia. It was the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane at the time, 254 mph (408 km/h). "

https://www.thoughtco.com/fast-wind-speed-recorded-3444498

Wow, I love the how Jef did the leaf pile on this one.

The town we’ve lived in the past 16 years, and the one the 7 years before that, have you put them at the curb, and they come around with a huge vacuum mounted on a truck & suck them up. I always loved raking them out, but my back no longer allows that. So, I put the bagger on the mower & empty it onto my yard waste cans, and dump those at the curb.

But this spring we thought we going to be moving, so I sold the mower; don’t know what I’m going to do next month…… I’ve had a electric blower for decades, but I’ve never been able to make it move the leaves where I want them.

In 1969, Hurricane Camille packed 200mph winds when it made landfall in Mississippi. It was likely even stronger but the wind gauges were maxed out at that intensity.

That would make a really great compost pile.

We just have all conifers. No leaves.

The kid is referring to leaf blowers.

Better still, just leave the leaves where they are until plants start greening up again.

Then mow over them.

Why not leaf them where they are? The girl looks mighty cute today.

Blowers are GREAT at moving stuff away from where it is and TERRIBLE at moving stuff to where you want it. Note Frazz bagging those leaves.