Need to rake those damn leaves!

September 2013.

Casual roaming of the neighbourhood can reveal some of the oddities of local urbanity.

First a background story. Going back several decades, there used to be tradition in Canberra that each winter the residents would rake their leaves in the street gutter and then set fire to them. The neighbourhoods were full of smoke from these frequent local burnings. Eventually the local government put a stop to this local tradition.

But that does not stop residents raking these pesky leaves off their lawns in order to keep their precious front lawns and nature strips all neat and tidy.

But it is a bit of a mystery of how neat some residents think their front lawn looks when the leaves are swept away. This one isn’t exactly a showcase of front vegetation. The front area is used for car parking at night, so maybe the leaves are a hindrance to the cars. Who knows!