Orange

The two towering red maples in our front yard have shed most of their leaves now. I'm not sure what the trees are called, but they may be a variety of Norway maple like "Crimson King" or "Schwedleri." In the summer, the leaves are dark red. When fall comes, the red becomes almost orange before the leaves fall to the ground. I usually don't try to rake them up until they're all on the ground.

Seen from the deck: maple leaves blanket the driveway. It probably takes about an hour to get them raked and moved.

But I may try to get them up in the next few days. I saw that some serious rain is predicted for mid-week and dry leaves are easier to move than wet ones. Once I rake them, I use an old garbage bin to wheel them out back to the vegetable garden. We spread them over the plot to keep the weeds down over the winter. In the spring, the decomposing leaves get tilled into the soil.