Signs of Change


The color picture of the leaves above was taken a year or two ago in our front yard.

Those precious boys above were having a great time jumping around in the leaves together. Date of that picture was most likely around 1969.


As we returned from a trip to the Pittsburgh area this weekend there were isolated pockets of color in the hills. The maples were brilliant orange, reds and yellows and the ash trees had dark purple and gold hues. Trunks and limbs of entire trees were set ablaze by red poison ivy leaves.  It will be a couple more weeks before the trees in those hills reach the peak of color.

 I LOVE FALL!

When I grew up on Wolcott Ave. in Kent we would rake our leaves to the edge of the road in front of our house on our dead end street. We lived in the last house on the left on the dead end of that street so there was very little traffic there except for people who did not read the DEAD END STREET sign at the other end of the road.  Some drivers came up all the way just to make sure that they could not get through.

After we accumulated a large pile of leaves it was time to roll and jump in them. The crumbling leaves stuck to our clothing in little clinging bits making it necessary to clean off very well before going into the house. Mom would burn these leaves in the evening and stand by with the rake to be sure the fire did not get out of control. Other neighbors had their fires going at the same time. It was a good time for visiting and gossiping.  A haze of the pungent leaf smoke hung low in the air. The odor permeated our clothing and hair. It was a good smell.


All the streets in Kent had leaf fires burning in the Fall so the smoke was not just a local thing. The smoke hung over the whole city. The air quality had to be REALLY BAD!

I just love the smell of leaf smoke. The leaves are now collected by cities and there are burning bans in many towns. Every once in a while I will catch a faint whiff of smoke from burning leaves and imagine that the person who lit the fire just wanted to smell them and remember the old days.

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