Can't even jump in big piles of leaves anymore cuz they just blow them away 😩
this post was submitted on 17 May 2025
320 points (91.9% liked)
Showerthoughts
34373 readers
604 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- No politics
- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I sleep with earplugs in because I work nights and have no idea when the HOA maintenance people are going to start blowing those things at 8 in the fucking morning.
Echoing a handful of comments in this thread, I'm from Argentina and I've seen maybe one leaf blower in my entire lifetime. However, I've been to the US , so I believe you (my condolences)
If my understanding is correct, leaf blowers contribute a lot to the current massive bug die-off that's been happening lately all over, because many bug species reproduce in leaf litter. In that regard, they're not only terrible noise-wise, but ecologically-wise as well.
So, terrible all around.
The world will be better when people will stop following the medieval trend of having a lawn. Water consumption, leaf blowers, habitat invasion would be finally gone.
I use mine to clear grass from the driveways (my neighbors more than mine since I don't care that much) and to blow leaves out of my gutters. As for blowing an entire yard full of leaves into neat little piles, hell no!. I've got better things to do with my time. I just keep mulching blades on my mower and grind the leaves up. Better for the lawn anyway.
...and also stop using it when a car is passing by. Thanks assholes
It sounds like a very American problem. I just let the leaves rot away on their own really, maybe sweep the path by my house and they can sit on a garden bed around some plants and rot down there.
Somewhat. Mostly because you have a lot of suburban people in America who like manicured lawns and expect you to do the same. Even without an HOA, you still have people calling the city if your lawn gets too out of sorts.
In the documentary "The Power Of Nightmares", it's mentioned that Sayyid Qutb (an Egyptian political theorist who's ideas directly influenced Osama Bin Laden) saw Americans being overly concerned with lawncare as a decadent and repulsive thing. I can't say he's wrong. He wasn't even around to see what TruGreen does to things. It should be noted, too, that his criticism wasn't from afar. He spent two years as a student in the US after WWII, and he didn't come away liking the place.
I live in the UK and as long as my lawn isn't blocking out the sun or causing an actual health risk to people I can pretty much do what ever I like with it. I am thinking of aim for wildflower meadow.
I live in South America, it's not, every groundskeeper in my medium-income condo neighborhood has one, and makes working from home really difficult, specially in the summer when you want to open a window
Wouldn't a goat be a cheaper and less polluting solution which would also automatically mow the lawn and produce milk..?
(Of course it wouldn't solve the noise problem, but it'd probably be less offensive than a leaf blower...)
You think that right up until you see and smell how much poop comes from one cow/goat/sheep. If your neighbor had one, you would have complaints.
Relevant podcast episode. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-los-angeles-leaf-blower-wars/
Good episode for sure. Well... most 99% Invisible episodes are good!
Fuck leaf blowers and whoever invented them. Should be illegal along with ultra bright headlights
I get a lot of leaves. I have a battery powered 60v leaf blower. I blow them away from my foundation so I don’t get a rotting mound around my house. Then I have to blow those away or they won’t biodegrade without leaving giant dirt patches. What I’ve found works well is blowing them into the forest bed at the edge of my property. The deer and other animals seem to help break them down. I don’t have to worry about them until fall but there are just too many to leave lie where they land. I go through three batteries a day over the course of weeks to keep them from building up really bad. I’m not a mow every week manicured lawn kind of person either. Right now most of my back yard is over a foot tall with a mowed area for my small dog.
I also like the leaf blower for cleaning off my gutter guards, drive, lawn mower, garage floor, deck, and even when it’s just a light snow I’ll go out a few times to blow everything off so I don’t have to shovel.
Is that really so much easier than raking?
Yes.
It's also a billion times more annoying. Just use a rake, dude. And while were at it, install a lawnbot. Fucking lawnmowers are just as loud and annoying.
I have a reel mower, and my leaf blower is pretty quiet, but thanks.
view more: next ›