This is what an autumn lawn should look like:
It’s not a very good photo, but you get the idea. The leaves are supposed to lie under the tree, rot down with the help of the fungi and bugs that eat them, and then enrich the soil to feed the tree. The blackbirds flick through the leaves to eat some of the bugs. A man in wellies kicks through the leaves just for the fun of it. If you rake them up, none of this good, life-giving stuff can happen. A lawn rake is a tool of the devil, and don’t get me started on motorised leaf blowers. Leave the leaves alone! Everyone is happier when things are left the way they should be.
Alex Mabbs 
Hurrah for honoring this amazing cycle. I have been thinking lately how inspired many of us would be if someone invented a solar collection device which didn’t require fossil fuels to fabricate and which decomposed into useful, non-toxic substances when it had worn out. And yet we are surrounded by leaves all our lives and generally take them for granted. The cycles of nature are amazing!
What an incredible observation! I wouldn’t have thought of equating leaves with solar panels, but of course that’s what they are … and have been for millions of years. And this natural process doesn’t cost the wider environment anything but brings many benefits instead. Hurrah for trees!