Autumn Color

Every year in mid September, I inevitably have some variation on this conversation: "It looks as though we might not have very good foliage color this year; the leaves seem to just be turning brown around the edges; there's no red." Then another week or so passes and the color begins to intensify, with bright reds and oranges popping amid the transitional greens. The views from my windows are gorgeous with astonishing color; even though they come every fall, the hues of the season remain a marvel; the air itself seems infused with particles of orange and red. It isn't only the grand views that provide visual pleasure at this time of year; when I look across my small pond, I see the ferns at its edge have become beautifully colored with warm yellows and earthy reds.






Also across the pond, the ground under the birch trees has become a small moss and lichen habitat. Colored leaves have fallen on the club mosses; strawberry leaves, alongside branching lichen, are spotted with deep red.




The blueberry bushes are not only of interest when full of fruit; in fall they turn a beautiful range of reds, from a cool bluish red to a fiery scarlet. Walking about my land, looking at the changing leaf colors, walking on the woodland path, beginning to be carpeted with fallen color, I feel an aesthetic thrill with this explosion of richness before the coming dun months.