The wind had blown to the ground most of the fading leaves that just weeks earlier looked spectacular in bright shades of yellow, red and orange. Now they sat quietly in a brown heap at the curb, waiting for the dump truck to take them away. A few stubborn leaves held tightly to almost naked branches, swinging like acrobats on a high wire. Walking through deep leaves that crunched under my feet, I kicked them into the air when I thought no one was looking.