The light, the colours, the smells, the sounds of fall are filling, grounding, oh so “right”. My daughter has learned that to get me outside all it takes these days is “Oh Mom… would you like to come hear and smell the scrunch of the leaves with me?” Ummm… well… oh yes!

And the other morning — as the morning sun was warming the frosted leaves — the trees, well the maples, seemed to be celebrating something. Each and every maple on the street from our house all the way to my daughter’s school participated. Each and every maple on the street from our house all the way to my daughter’s school was shooting leaves up into the air fireworks style. Well, that’s what it felt like.

Everywhere we looked (there are many maples here) there were sprouts of showers of leaves. Perhaps 30 or 40 leaves at a time from each and every maple. None from the oak, poplar, birch, chestnut or the various fruit trees. But 30 or 40 leaves always floating down from each and maple tree. There was no wind so the leaves felt suspended in their float. And you could hear each leaf being “fired” away. Incredible. I’ve actually never experienced anything quite like this. Truly a fireworks display with only but all maples participating.

Another thing I completely enjoy about fall is watching how the people of our neighbourhood “deal” with the leaves on the ground. Our lawn stays covered until after Halloween (the scrunching to collect candy is incredibly essential in my holding of this event :o) meaning that we — and a few others are full up with scrunch potential at the moment. Some collect whatever is there to collect on specific days of the week. Others seem to go with the flow. And on the other extreme from certainly our house is the house at one corner of our street. Here the man actually picks leaves up continuously with, yes, a garbage pick. I have actually seen him standing in wait for the next leaf to hit the ground. And, seeing his impeccable lawn yesterday — after “fireworks Thursday” — made me smile. It is good to know that you can count on your neighbourhood. It is amazing to live a season, a day, a moment with so many senses burbling.