The trees have decided to give into winter.

They are dropping their needles and leaves faster than we can keep up. A few nights of hard wind, shaking clumps of Spanish Moss into the mix, and we found ourselves in over our heads and in for a long day.

It took almost six hours. And the backyard is still not done….

Raking and sweeping and raking some more.

At times, I admit, I wanted to cry. It just seemed so tedious and never ending.

The piles, plural, helped.

It became a game, to see how many piles I could make.

How small I could make this big job.

Broken down into smaller pieces, the overwhelming became more manageable.

People driving by did a double take, waved and gave us the “thumbs up.”

Grass slowly replaced leaves and flower blooms revealed themselves once the moss was cleared away from the shrubs.

I felt my anxious heart begin to settle, saw progress being made.

Took a moment to take in the view, and then got back to work.