I never gave falling leaves much thought until I had a recent conversation with the newest home owner in the family. Last spring he moved into a small enclave on the other side of the Solanco area.

In addition to learning that living in your own home brings responsibilities that didn't exist in the small apartment, he expressed fear that he was living in a community of compulsive leaf rakers. You guessed his question.

My guess is that most leaf raking is done for cosmetic reasons. There must be a written commandment on the subject somewhere that I have never found. Living in the middle of nowhere, with no close neighbors, my usual leaf control consists of a few passes with the riding mower and letting nature take its course with what is left.

If you rake them, they are, with one exception, a great addition to the compost pile. That exception is the leaves from black walnuts, which contain the same toxic substance that causes problems growing many plants in their root zone. Fortunately, this tree is generally sparse with leaves and they seem to disappear early in the season.

The other problem leaf is the one from the Norway Maple. If you have a landscape maple that is more than 15 or 20 years old, you probably have one. It's the one with the huge maple leaves that are deep green in the summer and bright yellow in the fall.

These leaves are large and papery and will form a heavy mat if left on their own. This mat can smother and thin grass in your lawn or damage other timid plants. This tree has fallen from grace recently for its perceived invasiveness.

Another hazard with masses of dry leaves is fire, as I recently discovered. I added a patio beside my house, but that is another story. Several days ago I pushed the leaves off the patio into a pile and set them on fire on a day that was a bit too windy.

It took no time for the fire to spread into my most unkempt flower bed. Fortunately, the bed was surrounded by grass so there was little serious risk. I pulled the leaves away from the few plants that the fire might damage and left it burn. I might add that my wife was away for the day. Clean up in that one just got a lot easier.

I admit that I will never be a converted leaf raker but one needs to think about leaf management. I almost forgot the biggest benefit of raking leaves. Piles of leaves are great to jump into. Unfortunately, I don't bounce nearly as well as I did 25 or 50 years ago.