I had a 5 HP Craftsman chipper/leaf grinder for years, and it finally died (did not owe me one cent). They are wonderful for making mulch and save on bagging or hauling away leaves. If your budget and yard are sufficiently large, I would recommend one of those covered carts with a grinder that pull behind a riding tractor. My yard is not quite large enough to expend $1000 or more on one of those, but they are convenient. Since I had 29 trees taken from my front yard and 45 from my back lot, I do not have a lot of twigs anymore, but tons of leaves still from surrounding lots.
No snow yet here on DelMarVa (Eastern Shore of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia for those out of our area) but you know very well it is coming south soon.
Catch you all later, after a small lunch and a big nap