This winter was a particularly1 snowy, cold and stormy one in which ice and snow gathered on tree branches and caused many of these to break off and fall to the ground. In addition, there were many leaves on the ground that had fallen during the early winter, along with small branches which died and fell from trees and bushes.
One of the yearly chores2 that must be done by a home owner is to clean up the dead leaves and branches, and to dispose of them in accordance with the laws of the city3. In the countryside wooded areas producing fallen limbs such as these are often just left to decay4 on the ground under the trees, but in home yards this waste material5 is not considered attractive, and actually prevents the grass from growing well to form the green lawns which most home owners would like to have.
In earlier times in the U.S. it was possible to pile up all of this waste and to burn it in the spring or fall. However, now most cities, including Pella where we live, require the homeowner to dispose of6 this material without burning. Burning puts lots of smelly smoke into the air, bothering some people who have difficulty breathing, and which pollutes7 the air with “greenhouse gases8” which are a factor9 in air pollution and global warming10.
For small branches and leaves we usually rake them into piles, carry them to our “compost pile11” where we allow them to decay and to produce humus12, an important organic material containing part of fertile soil. We later take the thoroughly decayed material and use it to help feed flowers and garden crops. It is actually very important to maintain fertile soil, and it replaces the need to put commercial products to supply nutrients13 to the lawn. We also pulverize14 some of the leaves on the yard with the lawn mower15 so that the small pieces serve as natural fertilizer16 to the lawn. I have already done that job this spring.
For larger branches we have several choices. We may cut the smaller diameter17 branches into bundles18 no more than 4 ft. in length and put these out near the street for the city waste disposal trucks to take to the city landfill19, or perhaps to be ground to chips20 and used by the city for placing around trees and bushes. The larger diameter branches we may wish to cut into shorter lengths to be burned in our fireplaces21 when they are dry; or, if we have no wood-burning fireplace, we may use it for campfire22 fuel during the summer. If we do not wish to do this, we may hire professional workers who take care of trees to bring their large equipment which can grind23 even large branches into small chips of wood which can then be used to put around in landscaping24 of gardens, or for large composting operations.
When I was growing up, one of our regular chores was to pick up all of the limbs that fell from trees, or which we trimmed from trees, and pile these in the back of our yard where we would let them dry for a while, and then cut them to be used for wood burning stoves which we had in our home.
So, there is some nostalgia25 involved when I clean up fallen branches from our yard. It brings back memories of sawing26 and using an axe27 to provide the fuel which we used to heat our home. Now few city dwellers produce their own wood for fuel. One can purchase it from people who harvest and cut wood for burning in home fireplaces or wood burning stoves.
Notes:
1. particularly: unusually or especially (特别，尤其).
2. chores: small jobs which need to be done around a home or office (日常零星工作).
3. dispose of them in accordance with the laws of the city: 按照城市的规定来处置它们
4. decay: decomposition of organic matter (腐烂).
5. waste material: material which is not useful unless changed for another purpose (没用的东西).
6. to dispose of: to get rid of, to throw away (处置，处理).
7. pollutes: makes the environment bad (污染).
8. greenhouse gases：温室气体（主要为二氧化碳）
9. factor: an item in a complex set of conditions (因素)
10. global warming: 全球气候变暖
11. compost pile: a pile of organic wastes such as plant or animal items which can decompose to produce a usable material for use by other plants (堆肥堆).
12. humus: the brown or black organic material along with some solids which results from the partial decay of plant wastes or animal wastes (腐殖质).
13. nutrients: 营养物
14. pulverize: grind to a fine powder or small pieces (研磨，使成粉末).
15. lawn mower: 割草机
16. fertilizer: material which can be used as food nutrient for plants (肥料).
17. diameter: 直径
18. bundles: 一捆捆
19. landfill：垃圾埋填场
20. chips：碎片
21. fireplaces：壁炉
22. campfire: a fire lit in a camping area (营火).
23. grind: reduce to very small pieces with a machine or with stones, etc. (磨碎，碾碎).
24. landscaping: 景观美化
25. nostalgia: remembering earlier events of one’s life, often pleasant or emotional experiences (怀旧).
26. sawing：锯（木头）
27. an axe：斧头