Autumn began almost a month ago, but where I live it doesn't feel like the autumn I'm used to until about now (mid October). For the first time last night the cool winds blew in with gusto. I looked up at the moonlit tree tops as they bent violently; just as effortlessly as tall blades of grass in a U.S. mid-western field. I think this was autumn's way of fully arriving and saying, "Hello."
It's Saturday morning and the cold wind continues. There's a pile of leaves on my deck (this post's featured image), yet most leaves have not changed color or fallen yet. These ones on my deck must be the weakest and/or oldest leaves from early spring.
The temperature is invigorating, but not too cold. It's perfect, especially outside of the shade.
Soon, I'll need to pick up the acorns falling from the two giant oaks in our front yard. Most years, 5 to 10+ gallons of acorns drop onto our lawn. If I leave them, many might germinate and grow more oaks. Or, at a minimum they could smother the grass, or cause someone to slip as they roll under the feet.
Shortly after the annual great acorn gathering I'll need to collect the leaves. I keep some leaves where they land if they are not on the grass. I know that it's best to let the leaves decay and provide nutrients for the soil and little critters. But, because we have such large trees and dense piles of leaves, if I left them on the grass as well, by spring all I'd have is mud. Even during winter grass needs sunlight.
When you hear from people online telling you to not rake or blow leaves at all. To let nature do its thing. What they don't understand is that a traditional front lawn around here isn't natural. If I let nature do its thing my front yard would turn into forest instead of having some grass. But again, I leave plenty of leaf litter in other areas around our home because I do like to think of myself as pro-nature.
There's a related lesson here as well. When it comes to online speech we often throw nuance out the window. People will hurriedly smash their keys in the comments to say, "Never rake leaves." Or to give a different example, "You should never drink..." this or that. Or, "Never eat these foods." There are even better examples but they just aren't coming to mind at the moment.
The point is that in reality, it depends. There's nuance in most things. Things are rarely black and white. Losing the ability to understand nuance has damaged society because everyone spreads misinformation and piles on fake or misguided certainty in the comments. The only certainty is that no one truly knows what's going on and everything has a time and place.
Life is about balance. A well-balanced diet. Enough sleep, but always enough wake and exercise too. Some material possessions, but not hoarding. A little bit of salt, not the whole shaker. A certain level of caring, but not over caring. Or, in areas of the world with forests, changing seasons so that the land doesn't turn to desert.
I think my favorite times of every year are just as seasons change. When summer changes to autumn. Or, autumn changing to winter. Of course, winter changing to spring is always lovely with the baby leaves and flowers. That initial change is refreshing. Once you're deep into the season it can be a little tiring. Probably because at that point you've had too much autumn, or too much winter. Moderation is key even when it comes to seasons.