Burning Leaves

The smoke of burning maple leaves - pure & simple

"Not everyone has your passion for dead leaves."
Jane Austen - Sense & Sensibility

Do you know what a leaf fort is? It's simply a huge pile of fallen leaves carefully raked up, on top of which a group of children sit defending the pile against another group. Battle is joined by gathering up armfuls of said leaves & pelting the opposing party until all concerned are worn out, have twigs in their hair, crumbled bits in their socks & underwear and all the leaves are once again thoroughly spread over the lawn where they belong in the first place. Obviously this was great fun & every autumn when I was small this is just what my cousins and I did.

Sadly there came a day when raking leaves was no longer anticipated with delight - that's the day when I was TOLD to rake them. Suddenly it was a chore!

Still there was something after the raking was over to look forward too - burning the leaves with my father. I loved watching them crinkle up in the flames while the smoke swirled up my nose and made me sneeze.

Now in the fall I sometimes gather a handful of maple leaves and burn them in the fireplace just to remember...