The best day of the year

In Portland there is one day that is revered by all toddler boys (and their dads too, shushhh!)....

Leaf Removal Day!

This is the day the dump trucks, front loaders and street sweepers roam the neighborhood with a trail of construction-workers-in-training chasing them from corner to corner.



There are front loaders with wire brushes pushing leaves in piles, front loaders with grabbing buckets that are reminiscent of that toy you always play with in toy stores and then one day decide to finally purchase and immediately wonder why you bought it. There are street sweepers, construction workers with shovels, and, to finish the job, the mother of all cleaning machines-- a STREET SWEEPER VACUUM! These leave nary a leaf on a street that only hours before was purely orange.



This day was one to write home about. After an hour of stalking, the street sweeper driver finally caved and offered to let Miles and his buddy Jaco sit in the driver seat. Later, Miles and Jaco caught up with the sweeper vacuum while it was on a break and again solicited a tour of the cab.

Jaco and Miles in the street sweeper

By E.A. Fabs