06 November 2016

Les feuilles mortes... pas encore ramassées

We are waiting for the rest of the leaves to fall before we start raking up the ones that are already on the ground. The maples, the birches, and the linden tree are all dropping leaves with abandon.
Above are the maple leaves on the driveway out front. Below are the linden leaves on and next to the path out back. Getting them all picked up is a big job.
We are glad not to have to rake up all the grape leaves in the vineyard plots outside our back gate and behind our neighbor's house. They're pretty right now but they too are rapidly falling to the ground.
Orange and red leaves dominate on one side of the road through the vineyard, and bright yellow ones beautify the other side. Callie likes them all.
The dog loves to run up and down the rows of vines. She ducks under the trellis wires and explores one row after another as she goes, detecting a lot of good and interesting smells I think.

11 comments:

  1. J'aime beaucoup le peuplier près de la loge de vignes .

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  2. At first glance, I thought the second photo was an abandoned railroad track! Lol

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  3. Do you use only rakes or do they love their noisy leaf blowers in Saint-Aignon too ?
    Autumn is my favorite time of year, everything about it ... I bet it smells good there too :)

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    1. No leaf blowers here -- at least not in our neighborhood. Plenty of mowers and chain saws though. And hunters firing guns on Sundays and holidays.

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  4. I love the smell of autumn leaves that have fallen to the ground. :)

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  5. The yellow grape vines are beautiful.

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  6. I know there are wonderful French versions of this song, "Les Feuilles Mortes," but somehow this one seems appropriate:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEMCeymW1Ow

    but this is pretty wonderful too:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRe1U17n5OY

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  7. I love the yellow vines with Callie. Our leaves are mostly turning brown this year since we've had NO rain in three months, a sad situation.

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  8. Why not grind the leaves with your mower and enrich the lawn? earth friendly!

    https://fredgonsowskigardenhome.com/2010/11/15/why-rake-leaves-grind-them-with-a-mower/

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    1. We do exactly that with some of the leaves — the ones that fall on grassy areas. But we can't run the mower over the gravel driveways and walkways around the house. So we rake those up and take them out to the vegetable garden plot. Covering the bare earth with a thick layer of leaves prevents grasses and weeds from getting a foothold over the winter. Then in the spring I till all the leaves into the soil a couple of months before we start to sow seeds or set seedlings out.

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    2. That's great for the soil! Btw, I really enjoy the photos and descriptions of the villages and towns you visit. Armchair travel of the best kind!

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