Ready to get dead leaves out of your yard?

As leaves turn orange and fall to the ground each year, Mason city employees work to vacuum them right up, saving nearby residents from finding their spring lawns carpeted in a layer of decomposing foliage. Although 2017's leaf-fall is coming later than usual, according to Steve Johnson of the Public Works Department, he and his coworkers will still work from mid-October to mid-December to collect leaves that homeowners rake to the curb for collection. Lately, they've been averaging only a few truckloads of leaves every day, but they expect the workload to get much heavier as the year continues. "As it gets later in the year, we'll get busier," Johnson said. "To the point where we'll work over through the week just to stay caught up. We'll have five crews out, everyone working and staying over." Mason's Public Works Department provides the collected leaves to local nurseries and residents who use them as compost. If you live nearby and are interested, they can even deliver a load of leaves to your home. But if you, like most people, are more interested in getting rid of leaves than adding to the pile, you can check a street-by-street list to find out when Johnson and his colleagues will be stopping by your Mason home.