Raking dead leaves and
throwing them away interferes with the natural growth process and stresses
plants, which now have no natural source of nutrition or natural protection.
Left in place, however, fallen leaves slowly decompose into an excellent soil
ingredient; leaves mixed with your soil will immediately start decomposing to nourish
and loosen the soil and noticeably improve plant growth.
I shred them with a
lawn mower to greatly hasten the decomposition process, and allow sunlight to
reach the lawn.
Biology is certainly
not my strong suit. However, I'm told that fallen leaves contain carbon and
nitrogen compounds, which all plants crave. What's more, some organic compounds
(such as amino acids) resulting from leaf decomposition can be absorbed
directly by plants, for more vigorous growth.
The only drawback that
I know of is that sometimes too many leaves can form a mat and smother plants,
cutting them off from sunlight, air or water. Of course, if you shred your
leaves into little pieces with your mower, this isn’t a problem. Your lawn will
green up earlier in the spring and will resist browning in the heat.
You’ll be amazed by
the way your leaves nearly disappear when you shred them with an ordinary
lawnmower. They’ll take up around ten percent of the space that unshredded
leaves do. Pieces will simply filter down between the grass blades and start
decomposing and releasing nutrients. This lets you skip one of your yearly
fertilizer applications.
When they fall on soil (including your lawn), look
at them as a free gift from nature, chock-full of nutrition for your plants,
not as a future chore. Those dead leaves should be used as nature intended, not
thrown away, burned or sent to the landfill.
How do the binoculars
feel?
When
shopping for binoculars, there are two important "feel"
considerations. Consider these after you’ve narrowed your choices to
only binoculars with the optics you want.
First; how do they feel when you hold them? You want
to make sure you've got binoculars that will feel good when you use them or
hang them from your neck. They shouldn’t be too heavy, nor feel like a toy. And
they need to fit comfortably against your face, and in your hands.
The
second aspect is how you feel about actually buying them. If you're at all
hesitant about the retailer, the manufacturer, the warranty, or anything else,
keep looking. Price shouldn’t be your only guide. A good warranty from a real
person is worth paying a little extra for. If the whole deal doesn't feel
comfortable now it won't feel any better when it appears on your credit card.
By the way, if
you’re buying them for a child, for heaven’s sake don’t just get a “toy”. Toy
binoculars almost always have inferior (“cheap“) optics, and will quickly
discourage a child! Most important is that they adjust easily to fit a child’s
smaller features.
Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus
from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is a member of the American Society of
Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the
National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon
Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant
Society of Texas. His design office is at birdpoop@charter.net
