I couldn’t help but feel a strong twinge of nostalgia when coming across this photo from the LIFE archives. As we get older our memories from childhood fade and are replaced with new memories from adulthood. There are sensations, however, like a giant pile of leaves for me, that bring me right back to childhood. I, in fact, call October “leaf kicking month” to anyone who’ll bother to listen to my maddening ramblings. The author of this LIFE archives passage says it best when he mentions, “for those of us who grew up in places where autumn meant crisp days, cold nights, falling leaves and the slight but unmistakable change in both the feel and the look of sunlight, one activity brings it all back home: playing around in a big pile of leaves.” What kind of fun is more pure than that? Autumn is upon us! It’s time for apple picking, pumpkin carving, fresh cider, hockey, basketball, football, and fun times with family and friends.
Autumn will be here before we know it!










[Photos courtesy of Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images]