Parker Garland, 4, plays in the leaves in the Raleigh Court area of Roanoke during a walk with his mother, Anita, and brother, Luke.

A leaf falls from a tree at Fishburn Park in Roanoke.

Looking back on my childhood, leaves are my favorite memory of fall.

I don't remember the raking as being fun, but I did help my dad when I had to.

The fun would begin when my brothers and I would gather the smaller piles into one huge pile and jump into it. We would even jump off a swing to land on top of the pile.

Leaves on the ground now are more for looking at and less for play. When the time comes to rake them out of my yard, I can't rake them into a huge pile on the curb anymore.

I live in Roanoke, where residents must place them into plastic or biodegradable paper bags. The bagged leaves will be picked up by the city and later be turned into compost.

The best alternative, though, is to use a special mulching blade for your mower so the leaves are chopped up small enough to be used as fertilizer for your grass.