Fall is my most favorite time of year – not only for the significant cool down from summer
temperatures, but for the beautiful colors that decorate the landscape. I can’t help but
marvel at the changing of the leaves from their summer shades of green to vibrant reds,
oranges and yellows for the fall.
We have quite a few trees in our yard, and while not all of them are large enough to rake up the leaves from beneath them, the front yard has a pretty large tree that always gives us plenty of leaves for cleanup. Last fall, in an
attempt to clean up the leaves that had finally all reached the ground, the neighbor children thought it would be fun to
help and offered their assistance in raking. As soon as one pile was made, the fun began! For our chocolate lab, Dirk, leaves flying through the air and kids running in circles around him signaled all kinds of fun. He joined in the chaos, grabbing leaves in his mouth and rolling in the piles. It was pure bliss for such a happy puppy!
When we finally succeeded at getting all of the leaves into piles again, there seemed to be much less than we had started with. What I hadn’t noticed were the kids siphoning leaves from our yard and stowing them in their parents’ yard across the street. “With your leaves and ours we’ll have tons of fun!” one of them exclaimed. It was harmless fun and a wonderful part of what makes the fall season so great. I just hope they didn’t tell their parents where the extra leaves came from!
Kristi Ritter
Specialty Publications Editor