The crunch, crunch, crunch of dry leaves and the smell of burning leaves were the signs that Fall was in full swing and Earth's mystery of the season's change was happening. We didn't have many decorations growing up, and the theme farms that celebrate Fall today were nonexistent. So we looked to the trees and the days that ended more quickly with the onset of darkness creeping toward six o'clock.

Walking to school was different in the fall. We would kick up the fallen leaves, stomp on the crunchy ones, and stoop to pick up the glorious red or orange leaf that we thought was the beauty of the season all in one leaf. We competed with the neighborhood squirrels when gathering acorns and buckeyes in buckets so we could use them for currency when we played. But the best part of this season was after school - the hours of entertainment that our Autumn yards provided!

Raking leaves was an event anticipated as soon there was a nip in the air. We would run to the garage after school to gather all the rakes we could find. (We were not raking to get rid of the leaves but to play in the leaves!) We made everything from elaborately roomed forts where we carefully piled leaves delineating the rooms to huge piles of leaves just ready for one of us to go flying. Take off, mid air, and the crunch of sinking into a pile of red, yellow, and orange. Remember we didn't have video games then, so we played outside. And we enjoyed burying each other in mounds of leaves, lying very still, and then pow. . . springing up to scare an unsuspecting new arrival to the yard.

The final memory about leaves is the late-night burning. Who can forget the smell of burning leaves or the visual of the small thread of smoke streaming from the glowing piles of leaves? Although leaf burning is prohibited today on the streets of Broad Ripple, anyone who grew up here in the 50's and 60's knows the magical Fall air which was a mix of smoke and frost. It is amazing how strong and how long Fall's distinctive smells, colors, and textures can live in one's memory.