Opinion | Forget the Blowers: ‘Leave the Leaves,’ or Rake Them (Published 2022) (2024)

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To the Editor:

Re “It’s Saturday. About Your Leaf Blower,” by Jessica Stolzberg (Opinion guest essay, April 16):

There’s an alternative to gas and electric leaf blowers. It’s called a rake (mentioned parenthetically in the essay). My husband and I have never owned a leaf blower. We rely on rakes for our leaf removal.

Raking provides a repetitive action that requires no concentration and lets your mind wander. Whether it’s planning your garden for the coming season, contemplating what color to paint the living room or solving the world’s problems, you are alone with your thoughts for that time.

It can also be a moment of Zen, being in the moment, smelling the warm earth and listening to the birds (and keeping an eye out for a possible wandering bear, in my town). There is also the added pleasure of stopping and leaning on the rake to talk to a neighbor on their walk, a greeting I wouldn’t have heard over the sound of a leaf blower (or through ear protection).

Raking also gives the added benefit of physical labor, although my muscles may remind me of their effort the next day.

When my husband and I pass on to the great divide and our children are cleaning out the house, they won’t have to fight over who gets the leaf blower and will probably regard the rake as an antique.

Maryann Brett
Ringwood, N.J.

To the Editor:

Even if we toss all our gas-powered leaf blowers and replace them with electric devices, as your guest essay urges us to do, we are still harming life on this planet, starting with birds and insects. All blowers, even electric models, frighten these creatures and disrupt or destroy their habitat. Blowers remove the top layer of soil and organic matter, exposing surface roots. Rakes can also be guilty of removing soil and organic matter when employed too vigorously.