November 7, 2019

White Dog shared with me the photos she and Steve took yesterday, our official leaf drop day. When, by agreement, all of the leaves on our mulberry trees in the front yard release their hold on the branches and drop en masse until the trees are bare. This all happens in just a few hours and every year draws a White Dog crowd of spectators.

Opal heard my sigh at not seeing the Autumnal highlight and hurried out to the yard. She brought in a curled red leaf from the Bradbury Pear and offered it to me as a gift. But the gleam in my eye and delight in my voice convinced her that it was a treasure too dear to part with so she quickly tore it to pieces and swallowed them. 

Then she looked at me contritely. "Oh, Miss O, you managed to combine the beauty of the fallen leaves AND the childhood memory of crunching through them; although we did not generally swallow them." I kissed her head.