December Mugginess, Leaves, and the Blowers

Just when I think that December will bring about cooler, wintry weather conditions favorable to outside running here in Gainesville, it gets warm and muggy.  Yesterday I was looking at my local 24-hour weather station and the screen gave the current temperature at 81 degrees, with the forecast high for the day of 78! They also predicted some light showers in the evening.  Instead, what really happened was torrential rain and a thunderstorm.  Not that we couldn't use some rain: in general, northern Florida has been more prone to drought in recent years, causing a forest fire hazard.  Still, I wonder what's going on with the weather forecasting here...

The trees at least seem to think that winter is approaching.  I was walking around the block with Melissa the other day when we passed a house possessing a large maple in its front yard.  The presumed owner was out there meticulously vacuuming up some of the myriad fallen maple leaves that he had carefully gathered up in a large pile.  I looked up, though, and saw that the tree was still loaded with many browned leaves, some of which were falling as we passed by.  I noted to Melissa that this guy's yard, after he had finished clearing it out for today, would be covered again with leaves tomorrow.  She confirmed this to me the next day when she went on another walk. 

Gathering leaves at this time, raking them in, and putting them in containers may seem like an exercise in futility, at least until the trees shedding them are completely bare.  But those doing this earn much more appreciation from me than those obnoxious leaf-blowers.  These folks have a limited, territorial view of their "home" that ends on the other side of the street in front of their house.  I have seen different neighbors blowing fallen leaves out of their own yards onto the street...and then stand there in the middle of the street with their leaf-blowers and blow them to the opposite curb, directly in front of their neighbors' houses!  I even once ran by one of these people and he continued blowing leaves directly at me as I passed!  Nice guy...