Leave those leaves where they fall

Editor:

You’re feeling guilty about not raking the leaves on your lawn? In spite of the lovely weather, you just haven’t got around to it? Stop feeling guilty this very minute. The leaves on the lawn are a wonderful gift.

Mother Nature designed trees so the fallen leaves would enrich the soil around the trees. Over the winter the leaves disintegrate and provide fertilizer, first for the grass before they seep down to the roots of the trees.

You wouldn’t know it by just looking out at the leaves on the grass, in the corners and in the flower beds, but there are many little creatures there hiding out

for the winter. The beekeepers have put their bees away for the winter in their hives. But there are many wild bees and other insects waiting out the winter weather. The insect population has been declining dramatically in the last few years. They are essential for our lives.

Leaves also add a layer of insulation on the surface to protect the microbiology in the soil necessary for plant growth.

Yes, leave that rake or the blower in the shed and get on with better things.

Helen Blackburn,

Websterville.