Lotsa Leaves

For several days now, I have looked out at the back yard, covered in yellow leaves but also canopied in thousands upon thousands more and demanded, "Fall, fall, fall!" The students are coming on Sunday afternoon to rake them in preparation for the city-scheduled pickup on Tuesday (the day we leave for MI). But if most of them don't fall until after the pickup, what then? These last couple of weeks have been beautiful (several weeks late) and I am not fondest of the season without leaves, but we would be less fond of trying to rake the post-pickup leaves ourselves and bagging them.

A couple of times the most beautiful fall scene has flitted in and out of my sight. That's when the brilliant yellow, orange and red trees stand out against a glowering dark stormy sky, the sun illuminating it all from behind me. I wished for my camera but of course there was no time to go home and get it. It's just to be treasured in my heart for the long winter. And I guess it's coming. When I criss-crossed the county this afternoon running pre-Thankgiving errands, I went through wind-whipped sleet, snow, rain and peekaboo sun. Finally it settled into a cold rain. Jenny has some winterizing tasks that we will help her with next week--putting up a motion-sensor outside light and installing a garage door opener (or getting one to be installed). She has raked several times but her next door neighbor, the one with the postage stamp lawn, has a new toy--a leaf blower, so he is always jonny-on-the-spot to help her--thankfully. Another kind of heart-treasure--for us all to be together again.