I went to Wisconsin the weekend of Veteran's Day for a wedding. I have lived in Tempe all my life, and my family does not usually make trips up to Wisconsin during winter. I am always subconsciously aware that it does not get cold in Tempe nearly as much as most other places in the US.

Now, I am consciously aware of it. Because I am lucky and I got to spend a weekend in Manitowoc, where it gets actual cold and actual snow and actual winter. And I've never lived through a full actual winter, so I guess it's a treat to visit.

The trees have gone dormant for the season. and the leaves fall. But they're scattered all across the front and back lawns. That's a mess for my grandparents. So my dad and I go outside to rake them on Friday afternoon after lunch.

We get some big rakes from the garage and start making some piles. This is not terrible. It's much colder than Tempe, but it's enjoyable.

Then the snow arrives.

Now it really gets cold, even for the afternoon. I refused gloves before I went out, which is a mistake when the snow starts falling. I have a sweatshirt and pants on (something I would be hard-pressed to do back at ASU), so most of the cold is mitigated. But I feel it on my cheeks and hands.

It keeps me awake at least.

I scrape the leaves into small bundles and then pull them out to the front curb, one bundle at a time. I live in Tempe. This is not a regular chore for me.

Some light snow coming down makes the half-hour we spend outside cleaning up the backyard colder than usual.

Once we've collected all the leaves, we rake them out past the curb into the street. Trucks that function the same way as garbage trucks or street thaw-ers will come later to push and collect the piles and make a mess.

Our pile of leaves will freeze before it is collected, but then the leaves won't blow around in the wind much.

Some people worry a lot about how nice their yards look, so they get rid of all the leaves. My dad and I do a decent job, and that's enough. Some people don't worry at all, and that's fine, too. I imagine some people like the reminder of the season. My grandparents and my dad want that lawn raked because it makes the whole yard feel cleaner. I can't blame them for that, either.

There will be more leaves down tonight. And my dad and I won't be there to help clear them out. But I'm glad we could help out while we were staying at home. It's always nice to see Wisconsin, to see Manitowoc, to see my grandparents. And that's worth every leaf I get to rake.

Hey, at least it's not shoveling snow.