In the fall (which starts in early August for Maddy), and right up until the leaves have to be chipped out of the frozen tundra (aka our suburban patch of dead grass and hibernating thistles), Maddy throws whatever pile of leaves she can get her hands on into the air every time she gets out of the car at home.
She absolutely loves fall, and she throws that leaf confetti like she just came from the magical wedding of an apple scented candle and a pumpkin spice latte, officiated by The Great Pumpkin.
Thanks to our breezy little windstorm on the weekend, she had great material to work with on Monday after school. She even discovered a neat little pile that our friendly neighbour had raked onto our side of the lawn. How convenient! Not to mention odd, as their lawn was completely free of leaves. No piles even. Either they bagged the rest of them or the leaves feel as welcome over there as the rest of us do.
When Maddy had the pile of leaves mid-launch I had a sudden thought that there was a real possibility that those particular leaves were turning brown for reasons other than lack of chlorophyl. I made a quick dive behind the van to dodge any turd-fetti that might be headed my way. The side of my white van is already covered in bespoke berry bird diarrhea anyway…a dog turd could only improve the situation.
Hey, is that why my van is called a Dodge…it’s so enormous that an entire village could dodge behind it to safety? Or is it that people should dodge the exhausted moms who are driving this beast on wheels, full of mini-beasts and all their stories and yammering, because there is a good chance we’re fantasizing about time machines and naps while we’re on the road? Food for thought.
I’m happy to report that the leaf confetti was turd-free. I can’t promise the same about myself.
I love how Maddy enjoys the simple pleasures. And how her sisters get in on the act to make her happy. Although I wouldn’t exactly call her expression while they were throwing their leaves, “happy.” More like, making a mental note to shower them with turd-fetti.
Is fall your favourite season? It’s definitely mine, for the cool weather, beautiful colours, and of free reign to gorge on stuffing and miniature chocolate bars.
And what’s your stance on leaf clean-up? Our city comes around in November with the leaf sucker machine, so I leave them (haha) until closer to that time (when I hear the truck circling the block) and then I panic-rake them to the curb. I like the look of the fall colours, and an outdoor yard-sized sensory bin for Maddy is a definite win for me. But a lot of the neighbours bag the leaves obsessively like it’s the equivalent of having their lawn covered in dirty underwear.
Side note: we have also found dirty underwear on our lawn that Maddy threw out our bedroom window. We knew she threw something out, but couldn’t figure out what for several days. So we apparently also see no shame in having dirty underwear on display. I’m beginning to see why the neighbours don’t like us.
I swear I’m going to see one of neighbours pulling leaves off the tree, directly into the yard waste bags like it’s harvest time. It’s only a matter of time.
Are you a lazy leaf lady like me, a leaf lunatic like my neighbours, or somewhere in between?
Your stance on dirty underwear decorating is probably best kept to yourself.
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