During a poker game the other night, my buddy Dave complained that he had to rise early the next morning because a landscaper was coming by to remove leaves from his yard.

“Get this: He’s charging $350 just to blow leaves around,” Dave grumbled.

OK, loyal readers may be shocked to learn that I have a friend willing to pay a worker, armed with a noisy, gas-powered tool, to perform a task accomplished much more efficiently and economically with a simple, hand-held garden tool. Those who know me also may be surprised to learn that I don’t spend all my spare time hiking and kayaking but also enjoy a card game with pals every so often.

Truth is, Dave, Rocky, another Steve and I have been playing poker together since high school, and when we’re not trying to pull an inside straight or bluff with a four-card flush, we chat about the usual guy things, including household chores.

“Three hundred and fifty bucks!” I exclaimed. “Hey, I’ll do it for two-fifty!”

Of course that was a gag, but I wasn’t joking when I told him about the contest I staged five years ago that I consider one of my greatest triumphs. Like the legendary sledge hammer-wielding John Henry who beat that steam drill down, I cleared a lawn of leaves using a rake faster than a man armed with a leaf blower.

Don’t believe it? Check out Day Multimedia Director Peter Huoppi’s video, which to date has been viewed more than 72,000 times on YouTube: https://www.theday.com/article/20131115/MEDIA0102/131119764/0/search

Anyway, I’m not going to get into the whole man vs. machine thing again, or make fun of people who look silly chasing leaves around a lawn with an oversized air hose. Rather, I’ll explain the system I devised that is embraced by several neighbors, including former Mayor John Rodolico.

He called a few days ago: “You ready for some leaves?”

“Absolutely!” I replied.

A few minutes later, John arrived in a pickup laden with leaf-filled trash barrels.

“Where do you want ’em?

“Anywhere on the side of the road,” I replied. “I’ll carry them to the rhododendrons.”

After unloading the barrels, he asked, “You want more?”

“Keep ’em coming!”

John returned not only with more barrels but also with several bags of leaves from another neighbor. I spread some around the rhododendrons and carried others to evergreen seedlings I had transplanted a few weeks earlier. Leaves retain moisture, discourage weeds and eventually break down into rich soil.

Meanwhile, I could hear yet another neighbor driving his commercial-grade, leaf-vacuum vehicle — music to my ears. While the whine of a leaf blower is as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard, the hum of Bob’s machine means I will have access to Grade A mulch for the garden. It not only sucks leaves but also chops them up.

Bob and Betsy’s pastures are too extensive even for my raking capabilities, so I don’t begrudge use of the machine. Heck, I use a chain saw to cut wood and a string-trimmer to keep our trails clear of weeds and vines. I also drive a car instead of a horse and buggy — I’m not that antediluvian.

The downside to Bob’s machine is that it’s too unwieldy to drive a couple hundred yards uphill over rocky paths to our compost pile and garden, so after he dumps chopped leaves in a pile not far from my driveway, I stuff them in barrels and lug them by hand. Good exercise, I tell myself. Raking leaves on our own trails and carrying full barrels to a makeshift tree nursery for mulch also is quite a workout.

Meanwhile, word has spread about my leaf-collection service, and I often see bags placed along the road for me to pick up. Some, like our former mayor, drop them off; others call or email when they have a fresh shipment.

It’s a win-win: I get free mulch and compost; neighbors avoid driving to a landfill or paying to haul the leaves away. At least nobody burns them on the side of the street anymore.

Towns throughout the region have different leaf-collection policies; check with your public works department. Many municipal landfills also compost leaves and grass clippings for landscaping in public parks, and also make them available for pickup by residents.

Towns that offer seasonal leaf collection usually require use of biodegradable bags. I accept any kind of container — plastic bags, trash barrels, even boxes — and return them for re-use.

Incidentally, you needn’t have an extensive garden to reap rewards from your own leaf-composting operation — even a couple tomato plants will benefit.

As the website compostguide.com points out, “The leaves of one large shade tree can be worth as much as $50 of plant food and humus. Pound for pound, the leaves of most trees contain twice as many minerals as manure. For example, the mineral content of a sugar maple leaf is over five percent, while even common pine needles have 2.5 percent of their weight in calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and phosphorus, plus other trace elements.”

The website, as do numerous other online resources, offers simple, step-by-step composting instructions. It’s not rocket science.

And if you don’t have the time or space for your own leaf-composting operation, you can always persuade a neighbor to start one.

I’m not worried about competition — with each large tree generating about 250,000 leaves, there’s plenty to go around.