Steinbeck………..did you look at the calendar?
No. Why?
Well, today is the first day of fall.
Did you say Mom fell???
No. Get the catnip out of your ears. I said today is the first day of fall. Remember how the trees change their clothes and put on lots of pretty colors?
Oh, like in this picture Mom took a couple years ago when I was really little?
Yep, that’s fall.
So when the trees shake off all their leaves, does that mean the next season is Fell?
Hemingway, come look at this:
This leaf doesn’t look normal but I can’t reach it. What has happened to it?
Steinbeck, am I going to have to explain this to you every fall?
Probably. I have a short attention span. MOL!
Look at the deck. Notice that there are lots of leaves that look like that and they are scattered all over.
Why aren’t they still in the trees? Do they feel bad that they are no longer green so they jump off?
No. The Painting Fairies come along and paint the leaves so they change colors for the humans to enjoy in the fall.
They seem to be rather limited in their choices of color.
Not everywhere. They use different colors for different trees. Look off in the distance.
Oh………that’s pretty. But you know what, Hemingway?
What?
Those Painting Fairies are going to have mighty wet feet with all the rain we’ve been having. I bet Mom won’t let them in the house with their wet feet!
Oh Steinbeck……………….
It’s fall here and that means the leaves are falling! If the leaves stayed on the trees, the season would be stay.
Mom says “stay” to you a lot!
I’m ignoring that. Anyway, Mom let us go out in the fall today and she took our picture.
If you look very carefully, you’ll see me on the ground, under the bush.
Mom took the picture and changed it!
Hemingway, Mom tried to make you orange!!!
But as you see, tuxedos rule!
Yes, we know. We’ve been missing for a long time! What is it with humans that they don’t understand how important it is for us to keep up with our friends in the blogosphere???
What kind of sphere? Is that something I can chase around the floor?
Steinbeck, go check the food dishes and leave me alone.
Off and running……….
Here’s our Caturday Art for the day and it doesn’t have any fur people in it at all. Mom was outside looking at all the leaves on the deck. It was raining and she thought it was really pretty so she played around with it.
Here’s the original:
Here’s what happened when she played with it:
She said she likes this ‘cuz it has both orange and black in it so it reminds her of us.
I tried explaining to Steinbeck about the leaves changing colors this time of year.
He never told me why they do it!
Anyway, I told him it was all part of nature and there was nothing he could do about it.
Well, I’m part of nature so why can’t I change my color?
Remember people……….I have to live with him. Anyway, Mom took a picture of a tree by us that has leaves who have decided they no longer want to be green. Steinbeck hasn’t personally seen this tree, but he did look at the picture.
I figured I could change our colors, too. Wouldn’t it be cool if I turned green in the fall and Hemingway turned red? I was hitting buttons on the computer and suddenly this happened:
It’s kind of like putting on colored glasses, Steinbeck. I think I still look very regal in shades of red. You, however, look a little sickly. I think we should stick to our own colors and not try to change like the leaves do.
But nobody has explained to me just why the leaves aren’t happy staying green. I think green is a pretty color. Of course compared to GINGER, it really pales in comparison MOL!
Mom got home a little early tonight so I begged her to let me go outside. She said since it was such a lovely day and I had been good, I could go out and play for a bit. There I was just surveying my domain and loving being Steinbeck-free. Suddenly my world changed!
Hey Mom……..what’s all this stuff on the deck? Did Hemingway make a mess?
Look at the pretty color!!! Do you think our friend Quint from Colehaus Cats would be interested in using this color in one of his paintings?
Mom, should I try to glue some of these leaves back on the trees?
Oh, please do! That will keep you busy forever!
Mom, some of these leaves are the same color as me! Isn’t that fascinating?
Are you going back inside now?
Over the weekend we were sitting outside discussing fall. Well, I was discussing it and Shakespeare was just looking around!
Want to know why I love fall?
I guess I’m supposed to say yes now.
Just look at me and the leaves. See how the leaves are trying to copy my beautiful fur. I have FALL FUR!
Well, I have NIGHT FUR then and that’s even better ‘cuz nights happen all year long.
We’ve been “confurring” with our buddies, the Trout Towne Kitties , and we think we’ve come up with a new business idea!
Remember how we were talking about all the leaves that need to be raked in the fall?
I had the great idea to grow trees that would lose their leaves at all different times, but Mom (and other humans) said that wasn’t a good idea ‘cuz raking all the time is just too tiring.
So, we put our heads together with the Trout Towne Tabbies and we came up with a new idea from what they said.
See that little critter in the tree? That’s a squirrel and we really don’t like them coming around our yard. However, they do get rather rowdy in the trees. Now the Trout Towne Tabbies suggested we let the “burds” go ahead and do the stupid stuff they do on the branches and by raising a ruckus, they will make the leaves scatter all over the place. (By the way, they don’t like “burds” at all.) So, we figured if we added squirrels to the idea, it wouldn’t be as bad and might be faster.
Once the squirrels and “burds” knock all the leaves down on the ground, then we can use our big fluffy tails to get them into a big pile.
Mom always says you flip flop your tail like crazy so you might as well put it to good use.
Well, your tail is out of control ‘cuz it’s so long and fluffy!
Let’s not argue. Just use your tail to get that big pile of leaves over here in this bag. Mom will be coming outside to check on us soon and she will be so surprised to see how much we helped.
I wonder if we can make this idea work all over the world? Just think how famous we would be!
But we have to find birds and squirrels to hire for our company and I don’t know if any of them would really be willing to do any work. Maybe we should go back to my idea!
Hey Trout Towne Tabbies, what do you think of our business idea? Do you think it might fly? hehehehehe………..I couldn’t resist!!!
Why do the leaves fall?
How many “falls” have you lived through?
I haven’t fallen lately! I’m not clumsy.
I mean the season fall.
Just as many as you have. What’s your point?
Then you should know that in the fall the leaves change colors and because that process wears them out so much, they all let go and fall down on the ground. Then we can go walking through them, making crunchy noises.
But Mom also gets a little cranky ‘cuz she has to rake up all those leaves. She claims that we get leaves from trees all over the world!
You know Mom is telling a bit of a tale there.
Mom doesn’t have a tail! Anyway, I came up with an idea.
Oh, I’m sure you did. What is it?
Well, what if the leaves all took turns changing colors during the year and didn’t all fall down at the same time?
What?
Just think about it. They trees could have stripes or polka dots or other designs, depending on when the leaves changed colors and where they were positioned on the tree. They might look sort of like this.
I understand what you’re trying to say…………and that really scares me lots!!! However, I don’t think your idea would work. For one thing, here in the frozen tundra, all the leaves fall off the trees for the long winter. Don’t you remember all those naked branches when there’s that white stuff on the ground for a bazillion months?
I get embarrassed looking at naked branches.
So, if the leaves took turns changing colors and falling down during the other months, then Mom and the other humans would be raking all the time and I’m sure that would make them crabby.
I guess so……….but striped and polka-dotted trees sure would be pretty!
On Friday Mom left us at home while she went to this place called an arboretum.
Arbor-eat-em? A place where you eat arbors? What are they?
No, it’s arboretum…..it’s a place where they have lots of trees, flowers and plants for humans to see. She said there were lots and lots of trees and pretty leaves.
We like leaves. Why didn’t we get to go with her?
For one thing, we don’t like to ride in the car.
Oh that………..well, should we show our readers some of her pictures?
You go ahead and post them to our blog. I’m going to go take a nap in a sun puddle.
TwoCatsViews 