Crunchy Autumn Leaves

There is almost nothing that has such a keen sense of fun as a fallen leaf. (Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, J.M. Barrie)

I dearly love J.M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy (as evidenced by my post about fairies). This semester I am lucky enough to be studying this novel in one of my classes. The copy that I have for the class also has Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and naturally I read it as well, not because it was required but because I'm not about to pass up the opportunity to read more of the development of the character of Peter Pan. For those of you who don't know, the character of Peter Pan first made an appearance in Barrie's novel The Little White Bird in 1902. In 1904 the play, Peter Pan, was performed for the first time. In 1906, Barrie took the parts of The Little White Bird that centred on Peter Pan and compiled them into Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Then in 1911, he published a novelized version of the play entitled Peter and Wendy. I've seen a stage performance of Peter Pan and have read Peter and Wendy several times now. This semester I read Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, so now all I have left to hunt down is a copy of The Little White Bird and then my exploration of Peter Pan will be complete. One of the things I find so delightful about Barrie's writing is his turns of phrase. He is a master at evoking child-like delight and wonder and fantasy. I enjoyed this personification of autumn leaves skipping down a park pathway immensely.

This picture is from Sunday afternoon when I wandered around my parents garden for a bit taking fall-like pictures. It was quite delightful. One of my favourite things about autumn is walking through crunchy leaves on a crisp but sunny day. Delightful.

PS - I hope those of you who are in Canada had a delightful Thanksgiving weekend full of turkey, friends, family, and long naps. For those of you who aren't in Canada...I hope you enjoyed your non-holiday Monday.