As I have mentioned in the last three hundred blogs . . . It's COLD up here. But that's OK because we are out of here in three days and if I am to be completely honest . . . I am going to miss this place.
I just came back from my daily walk out to the road and, as has been the case these past few weeks, I almost froze my butt off. (How I can be cold when dressed like Nanook of the North is beyond me but cold is what I am.). Todays walk was the only exercise I have gotten all day and I am ashamed to say I did not make the circle down the road, up the other driveway and around the back past the barn. It was just too cold to be out there any longer than necessary. (The reality is that it is about fifty-two degrees but the wind is blowing from the north so it feels so much colder.). I took a couple of small bags of garbage out to the trash bin at the end of the driveway and that was it ! I did take a few moments to put out some corn for the critters but I did not bother digging out sugar beats or cabbage for them. They will just have to make due with last nights left overs that are strewn across the yard. (Right now the back lawn between the house and the barn looks like a vegetable truck collided with a pumpkin patch. Cabbage and pumpkin pieces are scattered all over the place.) When I first went left the house I startled "Little Guy", our orphan fawn, who was munching on some of the pumpkin bits. When he saw me he ran around the barn and into the woods but I'm sure he will return within the hour.
My walk down the driveway is always entertaining because the scenery changes by the day. We just had a big rain storm blow through so I had puddles and fallen twigs to step over and around. Audrey and her twelve thousand relatives died off about a month ago so it isn't as scary a walk but the smells are those of a chilly autumn day. Wet leaves, fresh air, pine trees and rain all add to the feel of winter approaching. But the most obvious sign that it is late autumn is the carpet of leaves covering the yard and driveway. My favorite big Maple tree is almost naked but the ground under the tree is ankle deep in colorful leaves. These leaves are blowing my mind this year . . . the colors range from bright red and rust to orange and yellow and are mixed in the most interesting patterns on each individual leaf. I am having trouble going outside without getting side tracked picking up some of these beautiful leaves. With every leaf that I pick up I see ten more that are even more colorful.
And what does one do with a truckload of colorful autumn leaves ? Why you "press" them of course ! Where that activity ever originated is beyond me but I have a shit load of flattened out dry leaves sitting on top of my suitcase. The question now is do I take them with me to Florida ? Why would I do that ? What can I do with them ? If I took the time to press them how can I possibly just throw them away ?
My original thought when I picked up the first leaf was to bring it home to the grand kids in Florida who haven't seen Autumn leaves in years. In fact, now that I think about it the four youngest grand kids may NEVER have seen Autumn leaves. They were either born in Florida or moved there when they were very young. So I guess with that thought in mind I just HAVE to bring the leaves home with me. Maybe I'll get some wax paper and seal them between sheets of wax paper with a warm iron. (I used to do this with my kindergarten classes but it's been years since then.). I would imagine that my grand kids not only have never seen Autumn leaves but they also have never seen wax paper.
And so with the decision made to bring dried leaves home with me I am now faced with the next question.
HOW do I transport a bunch of dry leaves without ending up with a bag full of "crumbs" ?
I'll keep you posted on that . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment