Idaho Falls

Out There by Gregg Losinski It was only fair that after having what was one of the more "normal" winters in a long time that we got the chance to experience a "normal" eastern Idaho sum- mer. That meant that while most of the summer was comfortably warm, we did manage to get at least a week or two of nearly one-hundred degree temperatures thrown at us. Then, after we all ran out and bought fans and window air condition- ers the temperature dropped back down to typically needing to put a sweater on as soon as the sun would set. Hopefully, all this "normal" means that we will get a typi- cal eastern Idaho autumn. In my recollection, what is normal for our area means that we are sure to get one last blistering blast of a heatwave at the end of August. When this normally happens, it pro- vides the lazy among us—yours truly includ- ed—to reason that there is still plenty of time to get things done around the yard before autumn hits. The problem is that our typical autumn is only a week or so long, and before you know it, there's snow. While the snow may not stick, I recall plenty of Halloweens that occurred after our first snowfall and kids attending Boo At The Zoo with their cos- tumes hidden under their winter coats. The deceptively warm typical fall also leads to procrastinators putting off raking their leaves and then "whammo" the early snow dumps, then melts, then the tempera- ture drops and all of a sudden the lawn is covered in a frozen layer of slimy rotting leaves. After you have put off the task as long as you can, you rake up the leaves and then wind up having your hands go numb as you stuff handfuls of frigid wet leaves in the trash sacks. In the past, each home that bothered to rake up leaves would, for a few consecu- tive weeks, haul dozens of bags of leaves to the alley or the curb. This fall, each home will face the challenge of seeing how they can compact all of those dozens of trash bags into their one city-approved trash container. I envision the emergency room at Eastern Idaho Medical Center dealing with all sorts of injuries caused by middle- aged men trying to climb up into the City of Idaho Falls approved trash containers to stomp down leaves. There is also the dis- tinct possibility that the city fire department may have to bring on extra crews to handle all of the out-of-control blazes caused by wind gusts dispersing flaming leaf piles. In theory, the city has a program where you can rake all of your leaves in the gutter to be sucked up by a street sweeper. The schedule for my neighborhood has always had a collection date of early November. By that point in time, the leaves have all blown away to Wyoming, or they are a frozen slimy mass that gets pushed around by the street sweeper, buried under snow and then deposited back on your sidewalk and lawn when the heavy construction machinery is used to clear the streets in mid-January. Given the change in trash collection methods, this fall could be anything but "normal." Changing the venue for the Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration is one thing, but changing how thousands of homes deal with tons and tons of leaves is a whole different ball game! IF 70 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 In the past, each home that bothered to rake up leaves would, for a few consecutive weeks, haul dozens of bags of leaves to the alley or the curb. The Leaf that Broke the City's Back Video: "Golden Hour"

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