Each November we have this race on our urban streets, whether the city will manage to remove the windrowed leaves along the curb before the first snowfall. If the snow wins, we have the added mass of wet leaves contributing to snowbanks through the whole winter and clogging the storm drains during every thaw and winter rain, to say nothing of spring runoff.
This year, the city seems to be winning. The leave-sucker (vacuum cleaner on steroids) has hit both sides of our street this morning.
Of course, more leaves will appear on the curb this weekend, as the European maples dump their load and industrious neighbors ply the rake . . .
