Autumn leaves

Recently I enjoyed showing an out-of town guest around. She had never experienced a New England fall and was excited to be here in October.  On a beautiful sunny afternoon we strolled beneath brilliant trees in a local cemetery and marveled at the colors.

Looking down, I noticed leaves of varying colors and instantly thought of the multicolored leaves from maple trees by the old barn in Danvers. I was transported back to childhood and the happy time spent collecting those uniquely-colored varieties.

Today I saw men loading a dump truck with raked-up leaves. One man jumped up and down on the pile in the truck while two others lifted piles of leaves to add to those in the truck.  I smiled at them as I bicycled by. The man on the truck grinned as he called out, "You want to come and play, too?" I was tempted, but instead just laughed and rang the bell on my handlebars. These piles of bright leaves bring us back to the simple joys of childhood!