Les Feuilles Mortes

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by Arundhati Basu

The Dead Leaves, says the title. Pourquoi? Well they are just out there and how does one just turn her eyes away from the golden, rustling beauty of them… How fast the days fly by as I sit at the desk with my thoughts, trying to put them down into a project which seems to be taking forever, devouring the Outlander books, baking once in a while. Smidgens of self-doubt have been bogging me down. The problem with smidgen is that it tends to balloon into mammoth proportions and then you are caught right under the heaviness of it, the self-doubt that is, and you feel nothing less flat than the perfectly pressed leaf which comes out from between the pages of a book. The leaf has more leverage in all of this as you can imagine. It holds more beauty in its faded glory than anything else pressed does.

The blustery wind whipped away chunks of these thoughts with icy fingers as I ran, bathed in the golden stream of the early evening sun, the trees bare and leached, the gulls gathered in little clumps around as the waves rose and ebbed in choppy harmony. I passed by the old man who has determination in his fingertips. He must be above 80, wizened by age. It seems that a stroke has robbed him of movement on his right side, so he leans in heavily towards the right. It has become a ritual for us to acknowledge the other with a wave. The only other person who haunts the park and the river front, along with the old man and I, is a young boy of about 15. He is a beanpole, all arms and legs, possibly a soccer player.

I find persistence and hope at the sight of these two.

Towards the latter part of the evening, a couple of squirrels decided to turn playful on me. I was kneeling to shoot mounds of dried leaves when these two tubby fellows capered around, coming up close and dodging like we were at some game invented by the two of them. Catch me if you can.

Naturally, I feel like I have had free therapy. Now the lemon and verbena candle is making the room smell so cosy and citrusy and it feels doubly nice as I dig into a hot salad of chickpeas and grilled vegetables, spruced up with a handful of blackberries, caramelised pecans and roughly chopped gouda. So I shall leave you behind with this jazz number and a few photos of sunset, armies of white clouds, ducks, geese, gulls, squirrels and dead leaves.

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Published by

Arundhati Basu

The great affair in my life is to travel. I count myself immensely fortunate that my partner shares this passion. We are a team that likes to spend time planning and plotting out places to go. Destination check, flights check, accommodation check, cheesy grins check. Off we go.

46 thoughts on “Les Feuilles Mortes”

  9. What a pretty way to end the day! I laughed at the squirrels..such mischievous little creatures they are. I sometimes imagine animals as they’re represented in cartoons…having secret societies and anthropomorphic qualities. With squirrels, this little game of mine seems all too easy! Great photos. 🙂

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  10. Gorgeous photos Dippy!

    I love walking through the crunchy leaves. When he was first learning new words, my nephew used to think the countryside was called the “crunchyside” because his feet would crunch on the leaves in autumn. 🙂

    Here in Vancouver most of the leaves have turned to mush in the rain, so it is nice to see piccies of the golden, crispy versions!!

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    1. Hello Josy, ‘crunchyside’ is the bomb. Your nephew and you just introduced me to the cutest word in my vocab. Hah. I love walking on dry leaves too. Feels just right. As I write this, I can see the men in the park with their tiny and big trucks clearing out the mounds of leaves. I want to clout them but hey they are doing their job after all. The days are turning out beautifully for some time now so I am sending golden vibes your way in Vancouver 🙂

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    1. Thank you Mary. That is a beautiful compliment. I actually cannot wait for winter though the cold here promises to be blistering 🙂 How are you feeling now? I know you were not quite keeping well. xx

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  13. It always makes me so happy to see one of your wonderful posts come up on my reader because your writing always inspires me to go and write myself – you describe everything so beautifully, from the world around you to your thoughts. Also, caramelised pecans sound incredible -definitely need to start adding those to my salads as soon as possible! Hope you are having the best weekend Xx

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    1. Maria, you have a lovely heart. I mean that…not everyone can appreciate another so generously. A big hug. And yes those caramelised pecans (with maple syrup) hit the right notes. I am indeed having a nice weekend, looking forward to gaining ground on crocheting and just mooching around 🙂 You too have the perfectly relaxing one, my love. xx

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  14. “The problem with smidgen is that it tends to balloon into mammoth proportions and then you are caught right under the heaviness of it” – so well-said. I like the smidgens-analogy for little moments of self-doubt that gradually increase! Lovely!

    I liked that 3rd photo, the shot upward into the trees. So uplifting!

    So glad you ended up cozy and warm. Me too!

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  16. Wow! I turned on the Eric Clapton video and began reading your blogpost and seeing your amazing photos. It’s making me feel so nice and cozy right now. We’ve just got back from Lex’s youngest sister’s wedding. It was a bit exhausting so it’s really great to relax and catch up on your latest post. – Neek 🙂

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    1. How was the wedding? Time for sparkling drinks and mush in the air ? A wedding however can be exhausting and I am glad you are putting your feet up now. Thank you for letting this post and Eric Clapton to woo you awhile ☺ xx

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  19. Dear, every time I read your posts, I feel like I’m reading a novel. God, I may have said this to you so many times already but I won’t get tired repeating it. You write so beautifully! I’ve never experienced Autumn in my whole life and it’s so pretty!

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    1. Just for these joy-inducing words on a fine Friday morning, I am willing to gather bunches of these golden leaves and flinging them your way so that you can bathe in their golden beauty and soak in autumn. But no worries my lovely, one day you will see it all with your own eyes and feel glorious. xx

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