The leaves are all over Central New York yards by now, but before you grab the rake or leaf blowers (which nobody really WANTS to do anyway) here's some reasons (besides laziness) to leave the leaves alone each Fall:

Disposing Isn't As Green-Earthy As You Might Think

When trucks come to suck up your leaves or if you have them all bagged for pickup, they most likely go to a dump or landfill, and even though they are biodegradable, the bags aren't and the decomposition when mixed with other solid waste doesn't make for a pretty picture (or aroma.)

You're Stripping Your Yard of Natural Fertilization

You may like that pretty green perfect yard and think that removing the leaves means that the grass will grow better next spring, but actually the opposite occurs. Leave the leaves alone and let nature take it's natural course. Of course leaving a huge pile of raked or windblown leaves alone isn't the best idea either as too many leaves will definitely prevent sunlight from reaching underneath them and speaking of underneath...

Leaf Layers Are Natural Habitats for Wildlife

Just like when you remove a rock, you see insects living underneath, the same is true with leaves. The leaf layer has a whole ecosystem living beneath and you woudln't dig it if someone removed the roof on your house either. Not to mention that bigger animals feed on insects, sooo...

Long story short, nature does what it does for a reason and when we interfere, we upset the balance which is PERFECT news for those of us that hated the futile activity of raking leaves anyway...