Loving Leaves

The rapid onset of deep Autumn was unsettling. Since then, tomato plants welcomed in from the cold are providing refreshing fruit and energy. As their leaves soak up the southern sun, firm green becomes supple red. The plants and I are adjusting.

Meanwhile, chilled leaves are one of the great pleasures of the season. Although I dread the spring onslaught of thousands of Maple seeds on freshly prepared garden beds, it is the Maple's current combinations of reds, golds, purples, lemon lime and fruit punch that are most delicious. The eye-watering colors shimmering to the breeze, the leafy rainbows sifting downward and the decorative accessorizing of the landscape, link the visual, the spiritual and the practical.

Leaves are adjusting to their critical roles as nutrient recyclers and as earth's organic, biodegradeable blanket. In this way, leaves add life to the largest living organism on earth, soil. Sadly, many leaves never make it home. Instead they are stuck to the hardscape, raked to the curb and either burned or carried away by the bagful and vacuum truckload. What a waste.

Contrary to popular belief, leaves scattered over lawns, flower beds and gardens insulate, feed and strengthen. Leaves covering the ground during winter are essential to the survival of many things. In turn, these microorganisms, insects and animals are essential to healthy lawns and human living environments.

No one rakes the forests, fields and clearings, yet these areas do pretty darn good without lawn care. All the luscious varieties of plant life in these unmanned natural environments, including grass, survive and return every single year.

Enjoy leaves on every level! On any windy Autumn day, try catching a falling leaf. It's much easier than catching a falling star and worth one wish just the same. The next time you look at leaves, love 'em and leave 'em.

Related Links:

Skeletal Existence Poem.

Nature: Friends Like Gardens

Poetry Is A Feeling

Eco-Conscious Feet

All this talk about the ecology is wonderful. We are beginning to accept responsibility for our planet whose declining health has come at our hands . Hopefully talk will give rise to sustainable practices that increase understanding and appreciation. I'm half-afraid we are simply “Eco” prefixing: attaching quick (pre) fixes to programs as appeasements to the fad of the moment.

We'll know we're serious about eco-mindfulness when individuals, businesses, schools, not-for profits and governments are doing more each year. It will be confirmed when the human race is a race to see who can do the least to harm the earth. We'll know we've achieved Eco-Consciousness when our efforts are internalized and coordinated. Eco-points will then be a part of every mission statement, not just appended programs.

By the way, many of us were ecologically-minded when Eco wasn't cool. There was no word for it we were just trying to use and not misuse what was so abundantly and freely given. We had the whole world in our hands. This is the kind of power we still have. If we use this power to do something by doing less, the ecology will cure itself.

In other words, the ecology doesn't need our pseudo-superior intelligence to fix a GD thing. It will breathe better if we simply keep our big funky footprints to ourselves.

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