We had several wonderfully warm and sunny fall days last week. Molly and I went outside to rake the leaves one day last week; raking might sound like work, but it is always preferable to homework.

Here is what we have learned: Rakes work better than brooms for moving large quantities, but brooms are easier to handle. There used to be mostly green leaves with a few brown and yellow ones; now there are just yellow leaves remaining, and the squirrel nests are easy to see. Some like the leaves in piles; some want to put them in bags. Wait for the pile-preferrer to leave and you can have your way with the bags.

When the wind started blowing strongly I caught a leaf out of the air and a new game was started. We dropped the tools and started chasing after falling leaves. We listened for the wind in the trees and knew the leaves would be dropping just after.

Some fell quickly straight down, but most darted and swirled as the wind took them away. Many flowed across the yard next to the deck and since the grass was softer than the wood, we did our diving out on the lawn. The wind would drive large groups of leaves from the high branches up and up and the lot of them would tumble down all around. That seemed like the best opportunity for a catch, but last second, quick movements made them very elusive. Finally Molly caught one against her belly, and we had to trumpet our success to those inside the house.

Here is what else we learned. You have a choice. Trying to catch one leaf as it falls is a hard proposition, but you get a lot of exercise. Or you can stand in one place, and let them come to you. The latter works best on the windiest days when there are cascades of leaves coming off the branches. Unfortunately you don’t usually know about those events until the following morning when your whole yard is covered. In either case, when you get tired of the leaves, you can blow bubbles.