Autumn Leaves

The vision of autumn leaves take me back to my childhood where my aunts would take my brother, cousin & I on little expeditions to collect leaves in our neighbor on cold weekend days.

After collecting bags of all kinds of leaves, we would go home to make glue from a mixture of water & flour, which was used to glue the brightly colored leaves to construction paper. Then we’d ask our grandmother whose looked best. She would always say that they were equally nice. I know deep down, she was afraid to tell the other 2 that mine looked best.

Such a fond memory.

These days, fallen autumn leaves also remind me of the old jazz standard “Autumn Leaves” or “Les feuilles mortes” if you’re fancy. My favorite rendition is performed by Ledisi from her 2002 “Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue” album.

“The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall “

Johnny Mercer – Autumn Leaves ~1947