The Owl has fairly well given up on Weston leaving the leaves around their trees, and so reminds all of you that the next best thing to leaving them where they are is raking them up and not master-blasting your poor neighbor’s eardrums, and then bringing them to Weston’s Brush Dump or as I like to call it, Leaftopia. It is true that Weston has no leafblower by-law, nor (I imagine given we can’t even protect clearcutting trees) will we ever have one. So just shhhh on Sunday mornings, or I will thwack you with a feathered wing.

Where was I? Oh yes, brush dump. Here’s what you do when it is time to re-home your tree trimmings: drop them off at Leaftopia (Merriam Street brush dump) on Conservation land across from the Community Gardens. You must have a valid Transfer Station sticker. You must also be polite to Steve who spends a lot of time there. There is no charge for this type of natural bulky waste, but please make sure it is “clean” and not containing remnants of lawn furniture, or heaven forbid, some knotweed.

Leaftopia is open from 7 am to 3 pm this Saturday, October 16, and then again on Saturdays October 23 and 30, as well as November 6, 13, and 20. After that, your leaves must spend their winter at your house where, in all honesty, your oaks would prefer to have them anyway (you can also bring them to the main Transfer Station facility after November). The Owl recommends Leaftopia over the Transfer Station because it has the added bonus of seeing the giant stone ramp that used to lead into the Merriam Barn. And soon you shall see more of it as Conservation and an Eagle Scout take on a massive clean-up. But not during Leaftopia days as no one wants to be crushed by pickup trucks in a hurry to drop off leaves.

Leaftopia fine print: leaves must be in a compostable bag. For more about the ins and outs of “Yard Waste” (seriously, does Leaftopia sound better or what?), please see the Town Page here.