Oak Leaf Shuffle

It is that time of the year to move them leaves. Over the years, the number
of significant leaf producing trees have been whittled down to just one.
What relatively minor shedding of needles that my Bald Cypress trees
have compared to the Live Oak, is inconsequential. So what needles that
need displacing is minor, to rare.

In all the years that I have lived here and having had two Live Oaks
leaves to dispense with. Only once did I bag them up and put them to
the curb. That's thirteen bags of perfectly good mulch and not to
mention more plastic waste to clog up our landfills.

The following year is when I started the annual Oak Leaf Shuffle.
Yesterday, was no exception. After rounding up and distributing
these now, fewer and perhaps one day, non existent leaf litter. I say
this because this lone tree has been breaking up my old and tired
ribbons of concrete that served this grand old house as my driveway.
Whomever had the bright idea of planting a large, too large of a tree
for a small lot and plant it four feet from said driveway. Was not
thinking of the tree's future, but their own.

For most people would warrant to cutting this tree down for the
reason mentioned above. Bring that day, should I witness it, when
this tree succumbs to either a natural disaster, which I've already
witnessed and have yet to tell or from old age and disease takes
its advantage. Should trees have a natural end of life.

I've had an Arborist identify this tree as being an hybrid Live Oak.
Not the thoroughbred Live Oak mind you which, comes with an
over a centuries of years of life.


I and the plants have only benefited from this redistribution of carbon
material. I get the exercise and the plants get the break down of the
leaf litter, moisture retaining properties and to some degree it does
keep down on the less persistent of weeds. I have a hedge of Azaelas
that benefit from what I can describe as an acidic environment that
these oak leaves generate which, Azaleas thrive in.

I can also use the leaves as a mulch, or covering to where there may
be any bare soil. They are free and all it takes is the energy and
ambition to spread these leaves about. I would dare to say that it
takes more energy to dispense these to bags than it does to shuffle
them about in the yard.