Fall

Well, it's officially autumn now and its signs are everywhere in the USA.  My baby sister is one month into college at St. Olaf where the trees are in peak fall-colors mode.  I have seen emails and pictures of pumpkins, sweatshirts, and leaf piles.  I have been checking on (unhappily after the Wisconsin loss) Nebraska Husker football scores.  Here, while it is autumn, there is no fall.  After rainy season, we are now in mini hot season before winter.  So it is back to 100-110 degree days.  Trees here are growing well, not shedding leaves.

Recently while trying to explain the autumnal climate in the USA, Anna told a Malian village woman that leaves fall off of the trees this time of year where we come from.  The response was priceless- the woman asked Anna, "Can you then gather them and eat them?"  Good question, I guess I don't know... 

(here there are many sauces for rice or millet dishes that are made primarily of leaves of various trees, there are also quite a few traditional medicines made with leaves, so her question was pretty reasonable, just funny for an American)

Anna's banana tree