Leaves and pumpkins

We are busy collecting leaves again as we have done each autumn for several years.  Since the hens have scratched up all the grass in their half of my garden, we put down leaves in their runs.  We have very heavy clay soil and when it rains, the ground turns into a quagmire.  It rained very heavily all day recently and when I went out to the hens in the afternoon, you couldn't see their feet at all.  They need wellies! Failing that, they have leaves which keeps them out of the mud a bit.  Leaves are also very good at keeping their feet off the frozen ground when the temperature plummets.

 

A couple of Christmases ago, our son gave us a thing to help us fill bags. I've looked it up on Amazon and apparently it is called a bin bag loader. We just call it "that plastic thing to help us fill bags"...   : )

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosmere-G185-Bin-Bag-Loader/dp/B000TATVQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1446066480&sr=1-1&keywords=bag+filler

 

 

You put it into your bag, then fill it and remove the plastic thing and there you have a bag filled with leaves or garden rubbish  - and the bag is not torn by all the little twig etc.  Not only that but the bag stays nicely open for you to put things in it.  It more than halves the time to fill 20 bags with leaves. In fact I would happily buy shares in the firm that makes them because it is so useful.

 

Today we filled 20 bags with leaves. We really only have October to collect a year's supply of leaves so we need to get out there when it is dry. 20 bags is pushing it and our backs are tonight reminding us that 20 bags is more than we usually fill in one day.  We must have about 60-70 bags filled already but that is not enough yet. The bags we use are the charity bags that come through the door and are never collected again.  We have not yet used all those that have come through the letterbox this year....  We are fortunate to live in a road lined with sycamore type trees.  Our neighbours don't tend to use the word "fortunate" during October but they don't mind at all when they see us out sweeping them up : )

 

Any Topcashback customers around?  Have you spotted in their Snap and Save section that they will refund you the price of a pumpkin up to the value of £3 until next Tuesday?  I feel lots of pumpkin soup coming in our future. Yum!



 

 

 

660 items gone