Mary I use to use a wheelbarrow,rake and pitch fork to load leaves under trees and on trails,I figured out a better way to this about 8 years ago,now I use plastic or tarp .Just rake em on the tarp and go.To heck with that needless hard labor and tools I did before.
By the time hubby gets it all attached and pulls around I'll have it done and in the leaf bin. He likes to cut grass but I ask for leaf bag he is hurting all of a sudden.But he is still real handy.
My BFF's wife (now is 67) got bit by chiggers about 4-5 years ago in Florida. She had a severe allergic reaction and had to go to emergency on at least two different occasions that I'm aware of. And she cannot eat certain things anymore like red meat, dairy, and other stuff. That's all I remember but it really messed her up. So be careful if you have an allergic reaction -- which, of course, can be different for everybody.
Tony I never heard of it and we live here around marshes. Thanks for the info hope we will be able to harvest it in a few months. We need to take out the boat awhile anyway. Its dflat bottom so be great in the marshes. I'm tired of the rivers around here.
Oh no not the ice cream and I just had our by monthly steak today at lunch time. bless her heart I sure hope that is not permanant thats terrible. My goodness times are bad.
She still has to avoid certain foods, although she told me that she'd tried a bit of (?) and it didn't affect her now (we haven't talked about this in a year, so I don't remember all the details). As I learned from being allergic to yellow jacket stings as a kid but not now, allergies can come and go as we go through life -- and my doc confirmed that that can be true. Good luck!
When my vegetable garden became too much for me to handle, I started to container garden. After a couple of years of container gardening and missing larger Harvest of my vegetable garden, I started checking into other ways to Garden that would be easy, but resulted in the larger Harvest. There was a new "breakthrough method" being introduced in the garden world called Straw Bale Gardening. I couldn't wait to get the book and read about this new method, unfortunately my back got worse I never tried it. I'm sure there must be info on the internet if you are interested in trying this method.
AFAIK, she still cannot eat red meat (she raises beef cows) or dairy and a few other things, possibly for life.
Alfafa pellets put nitrogen back in the ground without any weed seeds. Here in the west due to the drought, hay has doubled in price and is not cost-efficient as a mulch. Alfalfa pellets have doubled in price also. I usually use leaves that I shred with my lawnmower and bag. I have tried woodchips but found they attract slugs and earwigs that can be damaging to plants like hydrangeas. Hardwood pellets can also be a great mulch for a small area but are very expensive. I had good luck with mesquite pellets around my tomato plants.
I tried that a couple of years ago. It worked reasonably well. Unfortunately, my first crop was from the seeds that came with the straw bale because those were the ones I bought from the Tractor Supply Store. After that, I did grow something in the bales, but I forget what. If I could get the large bales (they won't fit in my car) without the seeds, I think that would work well.
It is a tick that transmits the reaction @Bruce Andrew . It was first ID'd in Texas so it is called the Lone Star tick. Here is the link
Some people grow herbs and such in straw bales so they can cut out a chunk, put it into a pot and bring them into the house or greenhouse for winter.
Thanks for this new info and we have used alternate ways like container and a few others. Last one we tried was hugelculture mound and we did get some good watermelons off it.I was weeding that mound when I had my stroke Sept. 2019 and lost part of my vision then Feb 2020 had stents put in my heart,so it set us back. Its been a unusually rainy season here for past year so haven't got back to it. I do need to get back at it though. I would like some home grown tomatoes melons squash.