Snow-white clouds scudding across skies of intense, endless blue; Goldenrods dancing in the afternoon sunshine to the tempo of a gentle breeze; fuzzy orange Wooly Bears scuttling across roadways . . . . Nature is hinting that autumn is just around the corner. And soon, God will flick His paintbrush and splashes of orange, red, and gold will appear on hillsides, in meadows, in our own gardens. Without a doubt, autumn will be here in all of her radiant splendor and we will be wishing that October lasted five months instead of just one!

I have an idea for prolonging the colors of autumn for at least one more month:

This October, when the trees in your garden or a nearby park are flaunting their colors, pack a picnic lunch, rally the kids (or grandkids), and head outside for a leaf-collecting adventure. Bring home the leaves you gather and place them between the pages of some old, heavy books you’ve been meaning to donate. Then, in November, as you set your Thanksgiving table, bring out the leaves and scatter them across your table for a spectacular encore of autumn’s extravagant colors!

–Contributed by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& avid leaf collector)