Fall, Before It’s Over

Fall colors…. so bright and intense and beautiful. It’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary. ~Siobhan Vivian, bestselling American novelist

The estimated peak time for Fall color in Central Illinois is mid-October, but I’ve found that estimate to be off by a bit this year.

Still, all one has to do is get outside — regardless of cold, rain, and the urge to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate! — and the trees are ready to strut their stuff. Take a look and enjoy!

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The dogwood (below) is a deep shade of plum. Such a nice contrast from its pink flowers in the springtime:

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This, I think, is a sugar maple, hardy for most of the U.S., except the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean areas. Looks like somebody’s got some raking to do:

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I found this interesting — deep purple color in a mostly green tree:

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And this one’s wearing orange:

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So is this one:

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This is one of our late color-changers, but I’ll bet it will be stunning:

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This is a hedge of something called Burning Bush, which puts on a brilliant red in Fall:

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Here’s another house with Burning Bushes:

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These beauties are dressed in yellows and gold; their neighbors had better catch up:

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Here’s another variety of maple, this time in red:

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As you can see, some trees are already dropping their leaves; others haven’t even begun the annual color change:

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I hope you enjoyed our outing. I wanted to do a post like this for Robin’s Walktober, but the colors didn’t cooperate. If we can get past some of this rain, Fall will be a splendid time for getting outside and taking photos!