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Bread and Circuses

Please leave the leaves. And make a vow: no more leaf blowers!

#Nature #Bees #Biodiversity

26 comments
Lizard

@breadandcircuses I heartily support any reason to not do yardwork! (Or, well, go outside. Like, ever. Can't accidentally step on a slumbering bee if I never leave the house!)

ArchaeoIain

@breadandcircuses that sounds like a really simple move. And the joy of having leaf-blowers (the most useless invention ever) banned would be a great thing.

Locksmith

@ArchaeoIain @breadandcircuses it depends on the use of the blower. I use my electric one to blow clean the garage and to blow dust out of electronics (specially computers). Not for leaves, I just realized.

ArchaeoIain

@locksmithprime @breadandcircuses I snip the grass around the pavers in the path to the outside room. Reallised that was a perfect context for a leaf-blower--remove the snippings--so we bought a broom. Perfect. No emissions either.

Granny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)

@breadandcircuses Yikes? May? I think the neighbors would revolt if I waited until May to mow. I don't rake or leaf blow and I have yet to mow this year, but it's likely I'll have to start soon. I'm outside DC. How do I know if the queens have emerged?

Virginicus

@artcollisions @breadandcircuses We need a citizen-science website like they set up for the cicadas.

JR Kelly

@artcollisions @breadandcircuses
It might take someone in the neighborhood to make the first move toward less tidy nature, away from manicured chemical wasteland, to allow others to feel more comfortable following you. Be brave!

Zumbador

@JR_Kelly @artcollisions @breadandcircuses this is true. Gardens are infectious.

When we moved to our home there was nothing but lawn and concrete. I planted a messy garden and now my neighbour has one as well.

Cameron Reed (she||they)

@artcollisions @breadandcircuses In most climates, if your grass is growing enough to justify regular mowing, then most pollinators have emerged. But if you can leave the leaves at least in some areas until after May, that's even better.

xerces.org/blog/dont-spring-in

DELETED

@LateOnsetGirl @artcollisions @breadandcircuses Thanks for sharing! My wife and I like to leave the leaves out around our bushes and sides of the house for this reason. Having a little "mess" in our yard is more beneficial in the long run. Hopefully we can convince some more neighbors to do the same :)

Cameron Reed (she||they)

@afterconnery @artcollisions @breadandcircuses The Xerces Society offers a "Leave the Leaves" yard sign that might help with that. Not cheap, but it comes with a year's membership and they're a really good organization. gifts.xerces.org/products/leav

Neil E Roberts

@artcollisions @breadandcircuses We live in the UK but have chosen not to mow either lawn all year from May until late September. there a re a few houses around here doing the same.

Jenny Lane

@breadandcircuses oh please let no more leaf blowers be so

Babs E. Blue

@breadandcircuses Wow, thanks for this...didn't know...but if I never heard the drone of another endless leaf blower I'd be a happier person, that's for sure.

CompostableCaila

@breadandcircuses Thanks for this info! I’ll make sure to spread the word 😄🐝

Nettle

@breadandcircuses I spend 5 minutes on twitter and get mostly ads. I open Mastodon and almost instantly learn something new and important. Thanks for sharing.

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤

@breadandcircuses Please don't ban leaf blowers. We use our electric blower on the deck, the driveway, and the roof, where the redwood debris would be a fire hazard if allowed to accumulate. We don't use it in the yard.

Not sure if bees are too keen on redwood debris anyway.

Mike Nelson Pedde

@breadandcircuses Saw our first emerged queen just a few days ago...

Don Cooley

@breadandcircuses
not just bumblebees. Matis egg cases on flower stalks, various other wintering- over critters.

Mary Hilton

@breadandcircuses and no more gas lawn mowers, either! I use only a push mower and it is non-polluting and sometimes even cuts the grass! I get exercise, too! Win, win all the way around.

TomJ_MN☮️🇮🇱🇵🇸🕊️🇺🇦🇷🇺🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

@breadandcircuses Have a powerful electric leaf blower that is used exclusively to blow snow off my deck and stairs here in northeastern Minnesota. 💨❄️

I feed & water the birds and the bees & other insects with water features along my deck railing with bird feeders and with planting flowers in planters on my small deck and other small gardens in my yard. It’s small scale with this 110 year old house (only 1050 square feet) and fits me and my dog & 2 cats well, but every little bit helps.

It's Pronounced DEETS

@breadandcircuses I never rake my leaves. I leave them out, let them break down. Helps the soil. Also will use them in my garden when I get it set up.

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