Time To Dance with the Leaves

I was named after my grandmother. She lived to be just shy of 103 and proudly voted for Barack Obama twice. She was educated in a one-room schoolhouse and eloped to marry my grandfather, Leo Achman Dean Curry. They were married for 52 years. In honor of what would have been my grandmother’s 114th birthday on October 28th, 2026, I share one her published short stories. She too was a storyteller.

Time to Dance with the Leaves
By Ava Louise Jamason Curry

Do you suppose that a tree mourns the loss of its leaves? Is that the reason
the sap runs down toward the roots of the tree in the fall of the year?

Have you ever thought what a task it would be for a tree to name each of its
30 million leaves? Surely there must be that many leaves on any of these
large tress during a trees lifetime. What a job the tree would have, telling
those leaves farewell, as each one left their particular branch and went
sailing to the ground. I do not believe there is a more beautiful sight to see.
Those pretty shades of red, rust, gold and yellow gaily floating in the
breeze, yes…leaves.

Along I come with my gloves on my hands, a rake and a garbage bag to rake
the leaves into a pile. What a pile I have. Then I scoop them into the bag
and turn them into pulp.

If there are children present when one is raking the leaves into a pile, what
a grand time they have jumping into and out of that pile. How they squeal
with delight as they jump in and out of the leaves.

It seems that it was only yesterday I gazed out of the window to see teeny
red buds sitting on that tree. Yes, it was only yesterday at the warming of
the sun in the spring.

The sap was rising, and new life was being pumped into the veins of the
tree.

Overnight these red buds turned into tiny green shoots and they had spread
all over the tree, new leaves. Now the tree stands with head held high…
shimmering green leaves adorn from the top to the lowest branch.

Soon the first robin appears on the scene. He and his mate arrive as early as
possible to pick a choice spot for their nesting home, what a pretty team.

Sweet Dreams,

Ava

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