Autumnal Nostalgia

I waited for mid-November’s calm that arrived last night, a pause between storm systems of Autumn wind and rain. Today will be the day I recycle leaves, a process much changed in modern times. The rake was once the tool of choice, when families dragged dead leaves to small piles. Piles where then transported to larger ones, where fire created a unique aroma, signaling a time betwixt fall and winter, between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Today, I will use my riding lawn mower, with high-tech spinning blades to mulch dead leaves without a rake, without a bead of sweat. The mighty machine will pulverize large leaves, that just a few days ago bejeweled hundreds of trees, leaves that provided shade in summer months. Two passes and Autumn’s carpet will be organic powder, ready for rain to push it through the grass, where it will enrich waiting roots. Today’s smell of diesel exhaust will replace that of yesteryear’s burning leaves, representing efficiency and ecology, but creating a feeling of loss for what used to be.