LUCKY!!! That is fabulous! I just started composting in the last week (after YEARS of wanting to), and I've been planning to scope out the woods next to my property where years' worth of leaves have been blown into by lawncare people. Since they've only been sitting on the forest floor, not fermenting in a window well for 15 years, it won't be "potting ready," but it sure will be a good addition to the new compost bin!

What a lovely find! I've never been so fortunate. Had hopes when I realized DH was burying all the fish guts in the forest but he says the critters dig them up. Bummer. Maybe I'll have him show me where and there will be a nice pile of compost. Or am I dreaming in technicolor? ;-)

Blooming, what you have there is "leaf mold" which is very slow to form due to the low nitrogen content of the dried leaves, but it is fabulous stuff if one can wait for it, or in your case, make it accidentally. Lots of folks will make a leaf pile or leaf bin with a piece of wire fence and let them do their slow thing to get this fluffy stuff.

This is VERY exciting! It's great how when you "let it rot", magical things happen.

Cathy

Here is a link that might be useful: chitowncathy

I had a similar experience. I vac/shredded leaves last winter (2007) and put them in plastic bags. I used a few of them as mulch, but one was left. A few weeks ago I was cleaning up that part of the yard and went to move that bag. I couldn't. The tree that it was near had roots that went into the bag, the bag fell apart. When I looked inside, it was almost pure compost complete with worms. So I scooped it up into several containers and put it around the yard. I had planned to add it to my compost pile, but never got around to it. LOL.

Also last weekend, we trimmed down the honeysuckle that we have on a trellis. We had let it get too wild, so we cut it back hard. Well underneath was about 3 years of the leaves from the honeysuckle and the bottom was pure leaf mold. I felt like I had struck gold!!!

Sometimes being lazy and disorganized pays off.

Thanks for the replies! :)
It really is a nice feeling to find black soil or leaf mold, especially when there was little or no work involved.
When we bought this place we started a compost pile in the far corner of the back yard, but the weeds and raspberries really like it, and have taken over that area. So now we put our annual Christmas trees and pumpkins, as well as garden bits, and let it go. I might get around to weeding it some day, but for now it belongs to the small critters that seek refuge there. I don't mind. :)