Autumn is Here

“Hey Booker-T!” called Midge as she went to the door. “Are you awake in there?”

“I'm awake,” said Booker-T as he came strolling around the house and joined Midge in the front. “I got up when my owner woke up to get ready for work. You are out early this morning. Your owner hasn't gone to work yet, has she?”

“No, not yet,” said Midge. “She is getting ready to go now. I came outside to take care of business after eating my breakfast.”

“Come on and lets sit on the bench in the backyard,” said Booker-T. “You can see your driveway from the back so you will see when she leaves.”

Midge followed Booker-T to the backyard and leaped onto the bench. She looked around the yard and noticed some new flowers along the back of the house.

“Your owner planted new flowers,” said Midge. “They look really pretty. I love the red ones.”

“She put them in two days ago, but now winter is coming,” said Booker-T. “I hope the winter won't kill the plants. They are pretty.”

“My owner likes pretty flowers too,” said Midge. “She has a lot of them but I think she buys the kind that winter won't kill.”

“They make flowers that winter won't kill?” asked Booker-T. “What kind of plants are they?”

“I don't know,” said Midge. “But she put a lot of them in the front yard. They all look the same to me.”

“The flowers are different,” said Booker-T. “You have red ones and yellow ones and some pink ones in your yard.”

“I know the colors are different, but I don't know know what kind of flowers make it through winter and what kind dies in the winter,” said Midge.

“I don't know either,” said Booker-T.

“I like summer time and wish it would stay all the time,” said Midge.

“Me too,” said Booker-T.

“I like the trees in the Autumn time,” said Midge. “They are so pretty with their colored leaves.”

“They are pretty when they change to orange and brown and yellow,” said Booker-T. “But after they turn colors, they fall on the ground.”

“I know,” laughed Midge. “My owner always complains having to rake up the leaves from the ground.”

“Why don't they leave them on the ground?” asked Booker-T. “ I think they should leave them on the ground, don't you?”

“They are fun to run through,” said Midge. “I don't know why they don't like them. Here comes Jake. His owner watches the garden shows. Maybe he knows. Hi Jake.”

“What are you two talking about?” asked Jake.

“We were talking about all the pretty colored leaves before they fall on the ground,” replied Booker-T. “Midge wanted to know why people don't leave them on the ground. Why do they rake the up?”

“I like to jump into the middle of the pile when my owner rakes them into a pile,” said Jake. “she rakes them up and lets me play in the pile before she puts them in a bag.”

“She puts the leaves in a bag?” asked Midge. “Why does she put leaves in a bag?”

“I see her put the leaves in the bag and then she sets the leaves by the street and some big truck comes along and takes them,” said Jake. “I don't know what they do with them.”

“My owner puts them around her plants for the winter,” said Booker-T. “She does it every year before winter comes.”

“Why does she put the leaves around the plants?” asked Midge.

“I don't know,” said Booker-T. “Do you know Jake?”

“No,” said Jake. “I don't know.”

“Your owner watches all those garden shows,” said Midge. “They didn't say anything on the show?”

“I never heard them say anything,” said Jake. “When I jump into the pile of leaves, they feel warm all over me. Maybe they keep the plants warm.”

“Why does your owner send them away if they are good?” asked Midge.

“Midge, you ask too many questions,” laughed Jake.

“How am I going to learn things if I don't ask?” asked Midge.

“Good question,” laughed Jake. “I don't know. I don't have all the answers through and since we are only animals, I don't know how we would find out. We can't ask the humans.”

“Hmmm,” said Booker-T. “This is true. We can't talk to humans so we don't have any way to get answers when we can't answer them. Does your owner still watch the garden shows?”

“Sometimes,” said Jake. “But not all the time. Sometimes she reads a book when she wants to know something.”

“Does she have garden books at the house?” asked Midge. “We can read a little if we can find a book.”

“Maybe,” said Jake. “I will look later this afternoon and see what I can find.”

“Good,” said Midge. “I want to know why Booker-T's owner puts leaves around the plants.”

“Do they rake up the leaves at the park?” asked Midge. “I don't remember anyone raking them up when we go.”

“No, they use some kind of tractor and some funny thing it pulls that crunches them up,” said Jake. “I think they leave them on the ground.”

“I wonder why the leaves turn colors,” said Midge. “I like the pretty green leaves all over the trees. They are so bare when the pretty colored leaves fall on the ground.”

“I know,” said Jake. “The trees look so dead when they lose all their leaves. I think it makes the day feel so gloomy.”

“It does,” said Midge. “Humans should find a way to make the trees keep their leaves on, don't you think?”

“I don't think they can do that,” said Booker-T. “The trees sure are pretty when spring comes and the leaves come back and they come back really fast, I think.”

“I wish the spring and summer would never go away,” said Midge. “The autumn sometimes is pretty and the weather is cool but not cold, so I can do autumn. But I sure don't like the winter. I see all the kids having fun in the snow, but it is too cold for me.”

“I thought you like to slide down the hills in the snow?” asked Jake. “I like it for a little while but then I get too cold and want to curl up on a nice warm blanket. The evening time is nice when I can curl up on my owners electric blanket.”

“I like that too,” said Jake. “Sometimes it gets too hot and I have to jump off the bed for a while.”

“Try to find your owner's book,” said Midge.

“I will look,” said Jake. “While I am here, can we go see Snappy before we go to the park?”

“Sure,” said Midge jumping off the bench.

The three sauntered over Midge's backyard and entered the house through her doggie door.