Barry Lewis: Nature's carpet of leaves too beautiful to move

Did you catch the "CBS Sunday Morning" show last week?

Its "Moment of Nature" segment spotlighted the Catskill Mountains. Our mountains.

The shots were so beautiful.

A mosaic of gold, red and green maple leaves in front of a baby-blue sky.

Cool, clear virgin water cascading down a falls; its sounds in harmony with that of a baby bird crying for its mommy.

The nearly three-minute segment ends with a bright, red leaf managing to hold on to an aging branch that's ready to bare itself for winter.

Suddenly, the leaf lets go.

Not to worry. Its eventual landing after touring the wind-swept autumn air was on a bed of its brethren leaves, thousands of which have joined together to help blanket a Catskill country road.

Such a moment of nature.

Then I went outside to get my own moment of nature.

What I saw suggested that I'll be spending more of my time Sunday with nature then I will watching the Jets.

I was surrounded by a bevy of leaves that have blanked every inch of my driveway. And my lawn, my plants and my steps. If CBS had stopped at my place, they could have had enough moments of nature to last them until next summer. Which might be how long these leaves stay around my house.

Thing is, we cut down some trees this summer and yet we have more leaves than ever. I think deer are bringing them in. Or squirrels on steroids.

A few years ago, I got a leaf blower to ease the pain. Figured I'd just blow the piles away. Maybe over to a few of my unsuspecting tree-less neighbors. Just to give their lawn some color. But these days, even the leaf blower seems to be fighting back. Ten minutes on and I swear I hear it wheezing, "You expect me to blow all that?"

I used to love raking leaves. Really. Fresh air. Good exercise. I'd make playful piles for the kids. Couldn't make them big enough.

Maybe it's because there aren't any kids around anymore to jump into the piles of leaves. Or the air is too nippy and the exercise a bit too strenuous. Or maybe I've just come to my senses about how I'd rather spend my autumn weekends during the autumn of my life. But I'm tired of raking.

Looking around at my colorful lawn, I wondered, just how many leaves do I wind up picking up every fall?

Bet you've been wondering the same thing.

Would you believe the folks at the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program have the answer. Or as close as anyone could.

You see, they count a sample of trees. Someone there, who was either being punished or had time to kill, came up with an estimate for the average number of leaves that grow, and thus, fall, from a tree: 200,000. I'll take their word.

I'm guessing we have about 150 trees. That means I'm raking some 30 million leaves a year. Which means that since we first moved into our house 28 years ago, I've racked up enough reasons to stop raking.

So I'm thinking that this year, I'll just leave the mosaic of gold, red and green maple leaves right where they are. Besides, in another month or so I won't see them at all. Who am I to disturb nature?

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