"newsreader" wrote in message
...
dkhedmo wrote:
We just moved into our first house. We have woods at the back of the very
large yard, and many large, mature trees on our property as well as the
surrounding neoghbors'.

My property is surrounded by trees on the perimeter. I'm sort of out in
the country, on a 3 acre lot, with a fairly wide buffer of scrub woods
between me & the neighbors, so I don't really need to or care to be
concerned about the leaves blowing issue.

I do however have a fair amount of lawn (not very pristine) that I like to
keep reasonably nice looking. I handle the leaves much the same as others
who replied. I run the mower over them, blowing them mostly into the
woods. I try to go out with the mower pretty frequently in fall, so that
I'm blowing / chopping leaves while they are still dry & have not gotten
very deep. They basically disappear into the lawn once chopped up by the
mower. If it rains while the leaves are thick on the ground, they will
indeed mat down & possibly choke out the grass.

Dead leaves on the ground are good for keeping the ground clear of the
majority of the surface foliage. Nature thing. That said, you don't want
it on your lawn. Mow em, rake em, or if old hat in rural area without a
burn ban in effect, rake em and burn em. Lotsa leaves, no grass (lawn), if
no one cares, why should you? Its not a fire hazard even with a semblance
of decent rainfall.

My lawn is immediately around the house. Live in rural area. I can pretty
much do what I want regarding to lawn and raking leaves or not. No trees
near house except for a patch of some live oaks on west side. Once a year,
these drop their leaves. I don't care. Neither does the grass due to the
prevailing wind conditions in early spring.

Just one note. Keep the trees back away from the house due to potential
fire hazard from jumping treetops if near the "woods". "Purty" (pretty)
trees can destroy your house, and possibly take you and your family as well.
A good rule for a fire block area is 50 feet plus the height of the highest
tree in horizontal distance except in the worst wind conditions. Be safe,
and godspeed.
--
Jonny