Autumn in London

The English refer to "autumn," not "fall."  But the differences don't stop there.  Sadly, there isn't the dramatic shift of colour in the leaves that we often see in New England.  However, there are some noticeable changes.  This is one such sight on a little residential street I walk along as I go to our office.

Because it's a quiet little back street, the leaves lay on the pavement a little longer than the street sweepers would leave them on the main roads.  It's quite fun to get to shuffle through the crinkly dry ones as I walk.  Yesterday, I saw a little boy enjoying them much the same.  He would look up at his Gran and pick a leaf up, just completely delight by it.  Then he would drop and find another one, and look at her, his expression of utter amazement, as though he were trying to say, "Oh my goodness, there's another one! Can you believe it?"  Such joy in the small things.  It's a good reminder to stop and enjoy the leaves, rather than hurry from point A to B.