"The falling leaves drift by the window . . . The autumn leaves of red and gold." These seasonal song lyrics are once again playing in my mind. Autumn also has a way of motivating me to get ready to hibernate.

Cleaning up the birdhouses and putting them away, cleaning and filling birdfeeders, changing the birdbath top so it can withstand an unwanted freeze, taking down hummingbird feeders, winterizing porch furniture, and storing the yard swing are the tasks at hand. Alas, it's a lot of work to put things away. Then there's the window washing and putting up storm windows. Beyond all the work, this is also the time I like to bring things from my backyard into the house.

I look for the last blossoms of summer to put in a vase on the kitchen table. That late rose always seems to be the most beautiful. Remaining tomatoes go on the windowsill to ripen indoors. I cut and freeze herbs for winter cooking. Jars of jam, pickles, herbed vinegar, and applesauce get stored in the basement. Any fragile plants are brought indoors in hopes of carrying them over to the next growing season

It's time to celebrate the season by bringing the outdoors into our homes. Using leaves and ornamental grasses from backyards can yield a Martha Stewart moment even in the most modest of decors. I love to look for beautiful fallen leaves, spreading them on tabletops. For dinner parties, I use them as place cards, lettering guests' names on them with a gold ink pen. Tracing and then coloring leaves can add a seasonal accent on many surfaces. Still more artful projects can involve drying leaves, dipping them in glycerin or preserving them between pieces of clear Contact paper,

My fascination with leaves goes back to childhood when I incorporated them in gift making. As a youngster, I would take a leaf, put a new dishcloth over it, and rub a crayon on the cloth. The imprint of the leaf would appear. Using a hot iron, the crayon would set and I would have a lovely gift for my mother. This also works on pillow cases or placemat―paper or cloth. Of course there was the leaf collection for school science class too.

This fall I'm feeling inspired to make a wreath of colored leaves, Indian corn, gourds, bittersweet, and dried hydrangeas. I figure it will extend the feeling of autumn until Thanksgiving. Put on a door, a counter or table top, above a window or in the landing of a stairwell, it will get me singing "The autumn leaves of red and gold."