Leaf cleanup: Do it your way

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

In his poem “Trees,” Joyce Kilmer wrote:

“ I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.”

It’s obvious that he never had a tree in his front yard in 1913. Or, he paid the neighbor kid to rake up the leaves.

It’s autumn and although unseasonably warm, the foliage is beginning to fall.

Timely decisions must be made on how to best pick up the leaves: mulch ’em, rake ’em, blow ’em or suck ’em up.

Alex Phillips sits on the porch of his Genesee Avenue home in Warren and watches his son suck leaves into a vacuum shredder he pushes around the yard.

“I don’t think anybody rakes any more,” said Phillips, a senior citizen.

Phillips likes the shredder because he doesn’t — or at least his son doesn’t — have to haul as many bags to the curb.

Phillips moved onto Genesee in 1995 from Champion where he lived 15 to 20 years. He appreciated the maples trees he had there: When fall came round, they were quick in hitting the ground.

He’s been putting up with slow-falling leaves from the oaks on Genesee. Some oak leaves even stay on the tree during the entire winter.

“I would have never planted those trees there,” Phillips said as he points to the tall oaks along his devil strip.

Bob Iammizzaro, 75, Phillips’ neighbor, takes the industrial approach to getting his leaves picked up.

“I have a tractor that sucks them all up,” Iammizzaro said as he used a power blower to flush them from under his shrubs.

Iammizzaro has been picking up leaves on Genesee for 37 years. “I don’t mind it. It’s something to do,” he said.

Iammizzaro, however, hasn’t raked for years, though he used to rake so his children could play in the leaves. “Raking is too hard,” he said

It is, in fact, difficult to find anybody raking any more. Instead, people prefer power equipment.

Mike McNinch uses a riding mower during the summer on his Arden Boulevard lawn in Youngstown. In fall, the 39-year-old McNinch has to rake the leaves from his flower beds, because rocks surround the beds and he can’t get the tractor in close.

So, he’s forced to rake the backyard, meaning he takes 40 bags to the curb.

McNinch’s alternative to picking up leaves: “Hire someone.”

A small, unscientific poll by The Vindicator suggests than women would rather rake. It seems they don’t like a blower because they lose control of the leaves as they blow around.

A rake, they say, gives them more order and control.

Cost may also be a factor. A 24-inch plastic Bronco rake goes for $5 at Home Depot.

A John Deere 48-inch Z425 riding mower that turns on a dime can be yours for $3,999, or $92 monthly payments for a long time. Still, sitting in the seat and firmly grasping the two upright steering handles provides a sense of power. It’s like being Captain Kirk in command of the starship Enterprise.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com