November 16, 2010

Yellow

yellow tree

It is so beautiful outside right now. In front of our door is a massive maple that each night carpets our steps and street with a uniformly golden yellow mass of leaves. It's kind of magical, this moment before the leaves dry up, turn beige, and crunch underfoot. Every time I look at them I have the irresistible urge to collect them, armfuls of them, and spread them inside the house like runners and garlands. Sometimes, I do just that, and it is amazing to me that to this day, even though I know full well that one or two days later they will lose that soft malleability and turn brittle and crumbly in my fingers, I am still so, so disappointed every time it happens.

fall leaves

The children, of course, have the opposite response. The love the crash and hiss and crackle of dessicated leaf piles, running through at top speed to get the full effect. In a few days, I will take the camera outside again, this time to try to capture the boundless glee on their faces as they smash their way through yet another bank of noise.

5 comments:

emily said...

so eloquently put, anna. and as a matter of fact, i may have added a dash of curry powder to my soup too! yum yum. hope to see you guys soon, december i think.

Anonymous said...

I actually think you can preserve leaves for decoration and such. I was looking into getting some for a dinner party I'm having. I'm not quite sure how to do it myself though. The latest issue of Martha Stewart Living had a great blurb about using fall leaves on votive holders. I can copy it for you if you're interested.

Anonymous said...

oops, that was me, Susanne, above. I didn't use my google account.

Tina (sk8bettyT) said...

The yellow photos are stunning. I've been taking my children out every day because the side and back of our home are covered ankle deep in leaves and I love the sounds as my oldest runs through them.

anne hall said...

Hi Anna--am looking for an email address to send you a pix of the cardboard kitchen I build for my grandaughter from your design.
Anne Hall
Placerville CA
anne.l.hall@intel.com