It’s a first for me.
I never thought I would be raking leaves in Michigan in June.
But with a one-inch layer of “leaves” on my yard and in my flower beds, I’ve been raking leaves for the past two days.
Why I’m Raking Leaves
My next-door neighbor has a Little-leaf linden tree.
Which has been dropping bracts for the past week. (Bracts are a leaf-like structure, but not really a leaf. Similar to the red “petals” on a poinsettia plant.)
Not usually an issue, that tree has been dropping bracts in spring for the past 20 years.
Since the bracts are light, and they’re usually not a lot of them, the bracts typically blow away or decompose.
Usually bracts stay on the tree through summer, while the tree creates nuts which are attached to the bracts.
Not this year.
Our area has been without rain for the past two weeks.
Given my neighbor doesn’t water their plants/yard, I suspect their tree didn’t expend energy to create nuts, and started dropping the bracts.
My neighbor’s yard is relatively free of bracts.
But not my yard.
The wind blew bracts all over my yard, patio, and flower beds.
I’ve never seen so many bracts drop in less than a day. Covering my yard with an inch layer of yellow-green, oblong bracts.
Last night I raked and swept up bracts from my yard and patio before going out to watch the Strawberry Moon.
This morning, it’s as if I never raked at all.
There was another one-inch layer of bracts all over the yard, patio, and flower beds.
Sigh.
In fall, I usually mulch the leaves into the lawn.
But I haven’t cut the grass, since it’s not growing due to the hot temperatures we’ve had for the past week.
And I’d rather not have 2-3 inches of bracts all over my yard.
At least, the tree will stop dropping bracts at some point.
