All the leaves are ... GONE?!

Random Monday morning observation: This is my 400th post in this bloggity blog, according to the Dashboard thingie on my Blogger sign-in page. (What, you thought I went back and counted posts or something?!)

: )

So, when I left this place on Friday, my yard was an ocean of leaves. Mostly from the maples and/or sweetgums in my yard and the yard next door, as well as the random elm tree growing out the side of my house. Which even prompted me to try to come up with some kind of metaphor, as I searched for just the photographically correct yellow elm leaf afloat (?) on the red, gold and brown leaves from the other trees ... but then I got distracted and forgot what I was thinking.

The leaves out back had mingled with the habanero plants, the geraniums and the philodendrons. In fact, I also almost took a picture of the habs mixed in with the leaves ... but then I realized I was running late and it was time to go.

When I returned last night, around 6 p.m., which is now nighttime, there was still enough light to see that all the leaves were gone. Which could have been the result of an extra-windy weekend throughout most of the Midwest, but these leaves were GONE gone. Raked-up and bagged-up (or burned-up) and GONE.

And trust me, there were a lot of leaves. And I had no intention of raking or bagging or burning any of them.

So, I have mixed feelings. I am grateful that someone took the initiative to remove them, in a way, but in another way, I am annoyed.

I miss the crunching under my feet as I walk around my yard. I miss looking at my leaves in search of the perfectly imperfect leaf.

Good news is, there are many more leaves in the trees, still. A few more days, and my yard will be completely covered, just like it was before.

: )

I had some kinda new visitor this a.m., just before I started typing away: A bird that landed just inside the awning over the window in front of me, then flew down onto a low branch of the pine tree next door.

Sadly, I am rather clueless about most birds (same with trees and many flowers and plants); however, I think, according to my handy-dandy Birds of Illinois by Lone Pine Publishing, that my feathered visitor might have been some kind of finch, possibly a male purple finch.

Naturally, the bird flew away before I could get the camera focused for a photo. But maybe he will return!

: )