Ballad of the Falling Leaves
无毛视频淭he falling leaves drift by the window. The autumn leaves of red and gold无毛视频澪廾悠郸
无毛视频漈he Autumn Leaves无毛视频� 无毛视频� 1945 无毛视频� Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer
As I write this, I无毛视频檓 sitting near a large sliding glass door, leading to our backyard.
Out there, I don无毛视频檛 see any Democrats, or Republicans, or gun violence, or wars, or inflation.
I just see leaves. Lots of leaves dangling from limbs that are about to free them from their months-long resting places.
It无毛视频檚 all part of an annual ritual that commences every spring.
Leaves provide shade in the summer, then brilliant, suitable-for-framing tapestries each autumn.
My Facebook feed is full of snapshots from people who can无毛视频檛 resist chronicling the vivid colors they find on their travels at this time of year.
When I lived out west, I often spoke to folks from the nation无毛视频檚 northeast, who无毛视频檇 moved to Phoenix. Many of them lamented the fact that they missed the 无毛视频渃hange of seasons无毛视频� in Arizona.
(I didn无毛视频檛. But they did. Year-round sunshine never really bothered me.)
Back to the issue at hand. Leaves!
无毛视频淎nd soon I无毛视频檒l hear old winter无毛视频檚 song. But I无毛视频檒l miss you most of all my darling 无毛视频� when autumn leaves start to fall.无毛视频�
I was so sure that Western Pennsylvania is among the most spectacular fall foliage locations in the country, that I took to Google to support my thesis.
Well, according to U.S. News & World Report, I was mistaken.
Back in July, that venerable old publication (90 years old) put out the list of the 无毛视频�27 Top Places to See Fall Foliage in 2023.无毛视频�
First, who thinks 27 is a nice round number? Why didn无毛视频檛 they simply list the top 10, or 15, or 20?
Curiously, the rainy Mount Rainier National Park in the state of Washington is on the list; Anchorage, Alaska gets a mention; North Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada made the list; and even New York City (Central Park) merited a paragraph of its own. But not a single mention of, say, the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania.
Who do those people think they are?
Our red and golden leaves are world-class. They definitely should be honored.
That is until they fall onto the ground.
Then they get gummy and slippery under our feet 无毛视频� and beg to be removed from sight.
Curiously, if you don无毛视频檛 remove them from your lawn, your driveway, or your gutters 无毛视频� many of them somehow disappear over time, anyway.
The thought of that, led me to rush back to Google and ask, 无毛视频淲here do leaves go?无毛视频�
NOTE: Google will try to answer any question. No matter how dumb it is.
I无毛视频檓 sure Mr. Google said, 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 dumb. But I无毛视频檒l try to answer it anyway.无毛视频�
On the list of potential answers to that question, I found an article on Family Handyman.com titled 无毛视频淲hat Happens to Leaves During the Winter?无毛视频�
Bingo!
That无毛视频檚 an answer to one of those enduring questions like, 无毛视频淲hat did that girl and Billy Joe McAllister throw off that Tallahatchie Bridge in that song 无毛视频楾he Ode to Billie Joe无毛视频�?无毛视频�
Or, who was Carly Simon singing about in her legendary song 无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e So Vain?无毛视频�
I无毛视频檝e often thought it was me. Even though I无毛视频檇 never met Ms. Simon.
Back to leaves.
That online article at Family Handyman posits some interesting information about fallen leaves.
无毛视频淔or some, a lawn carpeted with leaves is a perennial hassle of autumn. For others, those leaves offer a windfall of free mulch and fertilizer. Whether you like them or not, fallen leaves play an important role in your yard无毛视频檚 life cycle,无毛视频� says the article in part.
So for now, while I无毛视频檓 witnessing the natural transformation from autumn to winter, I无毛视频檓 comfortable being a spectator to the colorful display of nature无毛视频檚 paintbrush.
Let me try that again.
Our entire yard is covered with a thick blanket of leaves.
I don无毛视频檛 know what we无毛视频檙e going to do with them.
We can无毛视频檛 eat them. We can无毛视频檛 burn them for kindling.
The best we can do is use them for mulch.
Good enough for me.
Al Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.