Leave me alone, mom

Trust me, I can't even begin to describe the amount of cajoling it took to get my camera-phobe son to allow me to take the following pictures. I don't know what's gotten into him lately; he claims to not like the flash, but I think there may be more to it than that.

The thing is, for a few glorious weeks in October, we have this amazing pink and golden light in our front yard as the leaves on the elm and maple don their vibrant fall hues. And the smell: crisp and smoky-sweet. Fall has always been my favorite season, and this town is a wonderful place to experience it with every single sense. I wanted to capture just a little of it while it lasts.

So this afternoon while Audrey was napping, I sneaked the digital camera into my back pocket, grabbed the rake, put the baby monitor at full volume on the front porch, and Jimmy and I made a leaf pile.