In October, springtime weather is just around the corner for those living in the Southern Hemisphere.

In anticipation of springtime lawn-maintenance, Dusty Miller of the Sydney Morning Herald, writes about the development she most dreads, the onslaught of the leaf blowers:

Aside from jet skis, I can’t think of many small machines that have caused as much ongoing fuming, in both senses of the word. When the council [city government] crew come down with their two-stroke petrol versions, the smell drifts through our bedroom window like a pungent summer breeze made up of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Hours later, a slow-moving, noisy truck spurts exhaust as it trundles down to suck up the piled leaves as best it can. By then, of course, most of the leaves have blown back to the gutter.
I’m not the first to observe the staggering inefficiency of the leaf blower as a marshaller of leaves. That’s what’s so infuriating. Everyone knows they’re hopeless at this simple task – the only task they have, in fact - so why are they still here?

Check out the full article for Dusty Miller’s answer. Which is delivered with Australian gusto.