The Secret Life of Leaves

Watching the Fall Leaves raining down this afternoon (and watching the Z dog sniff each and every one of them) made me stop and think.  What secrets do the leaves have to tell?  Are leaves like the fingerprints of trees?  Do they whisper secrets that only a Malamute can hear and decipher?  Do they tell him where they came from?  Which birds have been nesting in their boughs?  How many squirrels have raced up and down the tree branches and trunks?  Or are they just enticing him to play catch me if you can?  He has been fascinated by leaves his entire life.  He loves how the leaves swirl in the wind as he races to catch them.   Maybe, just maybe, they are there as reminders to take joy in each moment, for all too soon, the leaves will be gone for this season.