A Sprinkling of Autumn Leaves (submitted by Tracy Lovett)

Many of you know that my kids and I walk to school together each day. It started out years ago, when Sloane was in preschool, and Sterling rode in our stroller. We progressed to a double-stroller when Starson was born in '01, and then Sterling moved on to toddling down the sidewalk and was replaced by Sailor in the stroller beside a 3 year old Starson. Now, we don't need a stroller anymore. NOW, instead of FOUR children, I walk with only two (and Sophia, my dog). The other two have grown up and ride the bus out to the Secondary building. But, some things never change. I still love to walk to school, zig-zagging over the sidewalks under the autumn-blue skies, and I really enjoy being outside in October. Every morning we head out the door zipped into fall jackets and make observations about how much the leaves have changed since the day before. We noticed just this morning that some of the trees are showing touches of color here and there--golds, tangerines, and even a few scarlet reds. One of our favorite activities on our way to and from school is to collect these leaves like little fragile autumn jewels. We put them into a sack, take them home, and dip them in melted wax, coating them and preserving their color, at least for a while. All my children--even the older ones who have grown past elementary school any look forward to this October tradition. We use the waxed leaves to decorate for fall inside our home, and I also use them in autumn photographs in my studio. By the time Christmas rolls around, they are usually cracking and fairly tattered, so we discard them. However, we have used them many times as centerpieces for Thanksgiving, making the colors of fall last just a little bit longer in our home.

If you choose to do this fall craft at home, make sure adults are available for hands-on supervision the entire time. Blocks of paraffin can be purchased at many stores selling canning supplies, and must be melted with indirect heat---I use a mini-crock pot, but it can also be done in a double boiler. Dip each leaf into melted wax briefly, holding it by the stem, and then place on sheets of waxed paper. Be careful not to burn yourself, and remember, wax is flammable.

Then we gently stack leaves in piles (don't crush them!) inside shoeboxes for safekeeping until we need them for crafts and decor. We also spend time learning the names of each tree leaf that we have waxed, and we observe the delicate veins and variations in color of different leaves.

Soon, the trees will be coated in the first delicate blanket of snow, sleeping peacefully until spring. Try gathering leaves yourself this autumn, as the year closes about us and the orange moon floats above us in the dark velvet sky. It is a beautiful way to celebrate the season.