Fwd: Reading the Leaves
Wendy Nadherny Fachon
From: Wendy Nadherny Fachon from Wendy Nadherny Fachon <storywal...@substack.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 2, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Subject: Reading the Leaves
To: <storywal...@gmail.com>
“Fox! Look, it’s a fox!” I exclaimed to myself with awe and wonder. I was walking along Blueberry Drive, approaching the stream crossing, when I noticed an artful arrangement of leaves on the pavement. The experience was akin to reading tea leaves and divining the meaning of the image formed by the leafy remains at the bottom of an empty cup. Nature can be so crafty! I captured the fox with my camera. At home I transferred the photo image onto paper, grabbed a black pen and drew an animated fox character. With its red-brown coat of fur, a fox blends in with the colors and textures of the forest – camouflage. It moves through the woods with stealth. Slowly and quietly, it hunts for small animals – rabbits, squirrels, birds, frogs and reptiles. It will also forage for insects, berries, vegetables and wild grasses, because the fox is an omnivore, like us humans. I drew a pair of glasses on the nose of my fox, to signify his role as a teacher. What can fox teach us?
Fox shows us how to blend in and become one with Nature. He shows us how to move slowly, observe our surroundings and read the signs. Then my attention got diverted, I set my drawing aside, and forgot about it. One week later, however, while walking along Blueberry Drive and approaching the stream crossing, I saw a real fox. It darted out of the woods, dashed across the road and disappeared into the woods on the other side. It came and went in a fleeting moment, as I watched in awe and wonder. It was a beautiful creature with a white-tipped tail and black legs. I had never seen a fox in the ten years I had lived in this neighborhood. It is rare to see a fox during the day, because they are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night and sleep during the day. As I thought about this rare sighting, it occurred to me that the leafy form of a fox I had noticed on the pavement one week earlier was a prediction, because right there, in that very same spot I encountered a live fox! A rewarding moment for the earlier moment I took to read the leaves.
Fun Fact: Foxes and deer see orange as a shade of gray or brown rather than the vibrant color humans see. Hunters wear blaze orange for safety, so they do not mistake one another for an animal. If you go hiking in a forest preserve during hunting season, wear blaze orange for safety. Foxes, deer and other animals depend on their ability to see motion, their keen hearing and their sharp sense of smell.
GET CRAFTY! Make an Autumn Pocket Journal. How is the shape of a leaf is similar to a page in a book? The sheets of paper bound into a book are called leaves. A page is one side of a leaf of paper in a book. Leaves are attached, or bound, to stems and branches to form a tree. Crafting a simple pocket journal is an easy lesson in book binding. Materials: two 8-1/2” x 11” sheets of white copy paper dish cloth pin needle and thread Instructions:
GO ON A FOX WALK! Pretend you are hunting for animals or messages from Nature. Dress in forest colors – tans, grays, browns,black and green – and venturing out to your back yard, neighborhood or some nearby woods. Follow a path and walk like a fox, one foot in front of the other, slowly and softly. Look around for squirrels, rabbits and other small animals. Find a comfortable rock or log to sit on. Face upwind and feel the breeze on your face. Why might a fox face upwind? Just be still and observe. Watch with your eyes. Listen with your ears. Breathe in through your nose to smell the earth and the air. Use your journal to write down your observations, thoughts and feelings. Write down anything that comes to mind. Maybe you feel like sketching something or writing a poem. START A LEAF COLLECTION! Pick up a leaf that calls for your attention. Look for a color, a shape, a texture, or some other quality that draws your eye. CAUTION: Avoid touching leaves that are shaped like a flame, because this might be Poison Ivy. Here are some photos to help you identify and avoid Poison Ivy.
Study both sides of the leaf of the leaf you have chosen. Examine the colors and textures. What is different about the top and bottom sides of the leaf? Trace the edges of the leaf onto a page in your journal. You might be able to trace the whole leaf or just part of the leaf. Take the leaf home with you, and use it for art projects. I store my leaves between folded sheets of newsprint paper, press and preserve them. I place the newsprint packets under heavy books for a couple weeks to flatten and dry the leaves. Dry, flat leaves can be used for all kinds of crafts. CREATE A LEAF RUBBING Play with crayons to make textured leaf art. Choose a crayon and peel off the paper. Leaf rubbings work best when coloring with the flat side of the crayon. Start by rubbing the leaf you tucked into your journal. Rub it gently between your fingers. Feel the vein on the front and the back sides. Place the leaf flat on a table and lay a sheet of white paper over it. Rub over the paper gently with the crayon. Practice this process with several sheets of paper. Transfer the leaf rubbing to your journal. Cut out your leaf rubbing and tape it onto a page. READ A FUN BOOK ABOUT LEAVES Visit your library and ask for help finding these books and others. One of my absolute favorite books is Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. It’s crafty! Ehlert uses autumn leaves to create animal forms and nature scenery. Youtube has a video reading. The end papers of the book will help you identify the leaves you find, so you can write their names in your journal. Another wonderful book is the Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, PhD. This is a thought-provoking story about how Freddie and his leaf friends change with the passing seasons and the coming of winter. Youtube also has a video reading of this book. Purchase copies of these books for gift giving to support these authors and their legacies. Storywalker Wendy is host of the Story Walking Radio Hour, founder of StoryWalking.com and author of The Angel Heart, a new children’s book inspired by Nature. Tune in to Wendy’s November 2025 radio episode, Spiritual Pathways for Environmental Restoration with special guest Rev. Rachel Field, Program Manager, An Episcopal Path. This episode will livestream on D7RN Monday, November 3 at 9am and 9pmET, and become available-on-demand by Sunday November 9. 2025. In the meantime, access previous Story Walking episodes through Wendy’s Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network page. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
© 2025 Wendy Nadherny Fachon
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