Munchies

[rejectomorph]

Each fall I'm delighted by the varied colors taken on by the leaves of the walnut tree. When they first begin to turn, they are a pale yellow tinged with hints of red, a bit like a ripening peach. Then some of them will turn a slightly deeper yellow, the shade of a ripe Crenshaw melon's flesh. As the season progresses, various fallen leaves take on the hues of various foodstuffs until the ground is covered by reminders of such other comestibles as perfectly browned toast, fresh butter, light caramels, cinnamon, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie and candied yams. Today it became necessary to remove the walnut leaves from the back lawn. Every time I looked out the window the sight of them made me hungry for all sorts of things I either don't have or can't eat. Cinnamon toast I can get away with though. That and some hot tea. But candied yams, mmm, and the vanished melons of summer. I'll probably dream about them. No wonder people gain weight in the fall. It isn't the holidays themselves. It's the leaves subtly suggesting what rich foods should be on the holiday menus. I'll bet the trees want us all to be fat and lethargic so they can take over the planet. Just wait. Don't say I didn't warn you.