The Falling Leaves

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For a while there, we thought fall would never come. Then the first big chill hit, the trees started changing to their winter wardrobe, and then within a matter of weeks most of those brilliant leaves let go of their branches, blanketing the neighborhood. Despite this week’s warm spell, it’s fall and they’ve been falling. Now what?

Rake ’em up!

What happens next is important. The best thing is to use your leaves for mulch or compost in your own flower beds, garden plots, and under trees. If that’s not practical you have to get rid of them.  Putting them out for trash pickup isn’t good if it can be avoided. The anaerobic decomposition in landfills produces methane, and besides, landfill volume is a limited resource. But, fortunately… 

Lakewood will take ’em!

You can take your leaves to the City Greenhouse to have them put to good use as mulch and compost. It’s a free service. According to Lakewood.org/LeafRecycling: 

Lakewood’s free leaf recycling event is part of an initiative to support residents’ fall cleanup and spread awareness about the proper disposal of leaves. This year’s leaf drop-off event has been extended to two weeks and will take place from Nov. 15 to Nov. 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the city Greenhouse, 9556 W. Yale Ave. Staff will be available to assist residents on Saturday, Nov. 15 and 22 only.

The leaves will be recycled into compost, mulch and other recycled landscape materials. This event is for leaves only; branches, woody brush or tree stumps will not be accepted. All leaves must be emptied on the pile, and no bags, even if they are compostable bags, can be accepted. Proof of residency is required.

These leaves are already taken.

This past Friday, Southern Gables was buzzing with youthful energy as enthusiastic crews of volunteers fanned out across the neighborhood. These dedicated students brought their rakes and went to work, clearing away accumulations of autumn leaves. They were working in a project organized by the Southern Gables Neighborhood Association in cooperation with Denver Christian Middle School, raking leaves for our elderly and disabled neighbors who signed up for help. 

The sun was shining, the air was crisp — it was a perfect fall day for doing good, and the kids did a lot of good. They formed up in teams and had a full day of leaf-raking action, helping complete strangers. They tackled each yard on our list with bright smiles and upbeat energy. Raking leaves might be a normal chore for you, but for some of our neighbors it’s too big a challenge to handle. That’s when the spark, teamwork, and big-hearted spirit of youth truly shine! 

Ken Fischer’s dump truck and a fleet of pickup trucks worked all afternoon bringing loads of bagged leaves to the Fleischer Family Farm. Drivers and their helpers were Ken Fischer & Jeff Bair, Monica Abelein & Kathy Bunzli, Cameron Porter & Jess, and Jonnelle Leimbach & Roger Hanlon. James and Liam Johnson joined in after finishing a full set of raking assignments in a different neighborhood, to help us get done sooner in Southern Gables. At the farm gate, Judy Whitten and Marci DeMott headed up our volunteer crew moving the bags out to a giant pile, where where they will start their transformation into rich compost for next year’s farm produce. The bag wranglers included Art Zohn, Bob Appelgate, Bruce Loftis, Dale Trone, Marcel Guajardo, Marci DeMott, Pam Engel-Livick, and Trevor Donarski.

Judy Whitten filled the job of Dispatcher and Traffic Director for the pickup work. She told us “The Denver Christian Middle School Students raked 49 homes in the Southern Gables Neighborhood. 700 bags of leaves were collected and taken to Fletcher Family Farm. Throughout the Denver Area the students raked 114 homes.”

Farmer Paul tells us that he won’t be taking any more leaves at the Fleischer Family Farm this year. You can see why in the pictures that follow. It’s a leaf mountain! By next spring this overflowing bounty will be transformed into rich humus and put to use, protecting and nourishing the Fleischer Family Farm produce we all love so much in Southern Gables.

Photos by Judy Whitten. 

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