Each year, as December 20th comes to its dark conclusion, the calendar proclaims autumn once again to be null and void. Those in the town of Chico who rake seas of chlorophyll-starved leaves off thinning lawns and out of the gutters might take issue with that stop date. They know the leaves, which will begin to answer the call of gravity sometime in September, won't completely cease falling until the middle of winter.

Some might find the repetitive nature of the task to be a bore. For me, the act of creating giant piles of leaves in the street - where they are picked up weekly by the city - is both satisfying and cathartic.