Leaf Peeping & Pressing

Autumn is in full swing here in Seattle, and just a simple walk through our neighborhood means a vibrant array of fall foliage. As a family, we’ve been enjoying collecting leaves that have fallen and then pressing them to preserve their colors. Wesley even expects it now when we’re outside - he picks up leaves that catch his eye, and then he hands them to us, knowing that we’ll keep them safe until we’re home. He even knows that to dry and press the leaves, we’ll fit them in-between paper towels inside our cookbooks.

After just a few days, the leaves come out looking like this:

I made a couple garlands out of the largest leaves, hanging one over our fireplace and another over a window overlooking our deck. I placed the rest of the leaves around our home, a few in small vases and the others scattered around some pumpkins we recently carted back from a local farm.

I’ve been really enjoying this new family pastime. Every part of it. The time outside, the slow walks, the crimsons and golds that light up the trees on our street, the cool and crisp air that feels so refreshing to breathe in deeply and hold in my lungs. I love the crunch of every step and especially the sound of our son giggling as he runs through the leaves collected along the sidewalks. This is Wesley’s first real autumn, and he’s helping me love the season even more than I have before.