Winter Leaves

We've had some beautiful frost this year. So thick it almost looks like snow.  We even got snow one day...enough that a dusting stuck for a couple of hours. The last week or so, though, is a bit ridiculous! 50 degrees and rain, rain, rain! It was in the 20s and 30s for a while and was completely dry..and completely dry is not something we see often outside of July here in the Pacific Northwest! So as we pout about our lack of Winter (NOAA said it was going to be harsh..they had our hopes up!) it helps to find the beauty in the little things.
We have this tree in our front yard. It gets a bit confused about the seasons.  The leaves turn a brilliant shade of red in the autumn and then, they just hang there. We always talk about lighting up the tree when we put our "Juhala lights" on the house, but it just seems wrong as it is still covered in leaves. So, now that it's January, the leaves have decided that it's finally time to start dropping. (Last year I think they dropped in March?) My kids have been out in rain boots and slickers, raking the leaves they wanted to rake when everyone else was cleaning up their leaves three months ago.They can't quite jump in the piles as the laves are soaking wet, but they're perfectly happy to throw armfuls up in the air and laugh their little hearts out as their artificial Autumn comes fluttering back down around them. They'll bring a few leaves to the door for Dashiell to touch, then have him in fits of giggles as they toss them up and let them shower down around him, too. Of course, his baby laugh is so contagious it starts the whole cycle all over again.
And I will say one thing: The leaves really do look lovely in the morning laced with all of that frost.
I typed this post title "Winter Leaves" actually talking about the leaves themselves, but it does feel a bit like Winter is actually leaving. I hope not. With Christmas packed up and the New Year full speed ahead I must admit I'm (okay, we're) hoping for a little foul weather. (Sometime when I don't have to go anywhere for a couple of days, of course, and am completely stocked up from the grocery store, right?) In the mean time we'll enjoy beauty where we can find it.
Like out front, in those leaves. And in the simple joy they bring.