Lena and Fanny showed up ahead of time, as we knew they would, dressed in their formal travel clothes. They took off the heavy bonnets and capes and brought them into the house. These (above) are their work clothes.
They are remarkable workers. They charge $10 an hour. Lena is $21 and she gets to keep all of the money she earns. Fanny is 18, and her earnings go to the family.
They paused to knock on Maria’s door and ask if they could watch as she put some of her very popular potholders together. Maria loves talking fiber art with them, they have a million questions, and the three of them get along beautifully.
They always want to know what she is working on.
It was a wonderful sight in the backyard when they pulled in and got ready to work.
I went into town to get them some soda and onion-flavored potato chips for their break that would kill me if I ate them. This turns out to be one of their favorite snacks. Their horse Sadie, was calm and beautiful and we gave her some alfalfa treats and the donkeys finally came out of their shells to greet her.
They got to feed the donkeys and pet them, and we all had a talk about working animals. The girls live with animals every day and know a great deal about them.
They worked on the leaves for two hours and we paid them $40. As always, they are polite, efficient and a lot of fun to be around. I love going out the door and seeing a hose and carriage parked in the backyard.
Zinnia almost got kicked when she sniffed Sadie’s legs, but they became friends quickly. Zinnia doesn’t quit, and she learned her lesson. Fate just goes and sits right between her legs, and Sadie doesn’t mind at all.
Maria loves doing her chores, but she has always hated to rake leaves. She hired them for next Fall if they’re still on the farm. It’s curious to see people working so hard in dresses and hats and bonnets, but it works well for them. And they love riding the buggy here. Their visits are special to us, and I like seeing their friendship with Maria deepen.
I know you want to give these women a paying job but it’s important to all the little creatures that you love to LEAVE THE LEAVES. Butterfly larvae, moths, toads, worms, and so on overwinter in the leaves. They can be put on all your gardens, or in your compost over the winter, or even mulched on the grass to improve the soil. Perhaps they could pile them up for those uses.
Deadheading perennials is not recommended either as the seeds provide food for birds during the winter and some insects even overwinter in the stems!
Check out the David Suzuki Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy and many other environmental groups for more info. The critters will thank you! ?
#leavetheleaves
We live on a farm Hazel, not an arboretum…the leaves have to go…
Lucky to have neighbors. Mine come, rake and take away the leaves and then leave. They don’t ask for payment but I try to drop off some cash later, Which they always refuse to take. Of course I do their snowplowing when we get hit with large snowfalls.
these three photos are lovely! I can feel their energy and enthusiasm of leaf raking!
Susan M
I’ve found a way to photograph them, just capture them in motion and keep their faces somewhat hidden..It has worked out..I can’t imagine not being a photographer even though I never took a picture until I was 62.