The title of this post sounds a lot more deep and spiritual than it should. Don’t worry. Deep I am not, it’s just I really do tackle a long road home each afternoon. My commute takes about 50 minutes each way and fortunately this week it’s been a much more pleasant drive with the colors of fall lighting the way.
Red maples and birch coloring up across the mountains of Pennsylvania.
This fall the cool nights and warm days seem to have brought on some spectacular colors. I’m usually not a fan of these last death rattles which summer goes through, but even I have to admit it looks nice enough this year. Nice enough that I pulled over a few times today for a quick phone pic or two.
The death of summer and a cemetery just seem right together…. or is it my fall-hating showing through again?
A few spots up in the mountains are already hosting a rain of autumn leaves after every wind gust. The shower of autumn colors is nice enough in itself but I’m not looking forward to the gray of the next six months. There’s a lot to be said for evergreens.
Back at home again and the trees are starting here too. For a couple days the maple trees behind the house will be worth all the trouble their dark shade and greedy roots cause.
Time to think about the nice leaf mulch that the mower will pick up off the back lawn. It’s the perfect blanket for daffodil beds and tulip plantings and all the other late fall plantings which I still hope to accomplish before things cool off too much. That and a little rain too. Fall leaves look so much better on green grass rather than a parched bed of straw 🙂
sorta like suburbia 
We have a few bare trees here already, while others are still mostly green. There’s a pretty thick carpet of leaves on some sections of our lawn. If you lived closer, I’d be happy to share! I actually do have a friend who comes by and takes several bags full to her own yard that is surrounded by evergreens!
I don’t envy you that drive in the winter.
It sounds a little crazy but if you lived closer I would take you up on your leaf sharing offer! Lol. I don’t think I could ever get enough and I’m going to be watching my nephew to make sure he doesn’t bag and dump any when I’m not around!
I noticed a few bare trees near the higher elevations…. But the oaks are still green, so that’s at lest bother week or two!
That is a long commute, but a great perspective for the seasonal changes. Your fall colors are much more striking than ours. I have always been fond of fall, I don’t know why. Not the shorter days, to be sure, but maybe the crispness in the air or the angle of the sunlight.
The drive definitely gives me time to think things over, fortunately I carpool and that takes off some of the bite!
This year seems to be very colorful, we have our duller years too. I can rationalize liking fall but just can’t feel it!
You’ve got so much colour already! The leaves are turning really slowly here, and staying on the trees longer too,maybe because we’ve had mild weather almost all the time since the end of August- just 2 cold nights so far. The maples behind your house are superb.
I’m looking forward to seeing color work it’s way up your mountains too, you do get quite the show in your garden as well!
We had a run of cool nights and I believe that pushed things ahead. Hopefully the cool spell doesn’t mean we’ll get an early freeze!
Beautiful photographs of the tree colours. Clever what you did with the cemetery too.
Our trees are turning too now – the horse chestnuts leaves are almost gone and the beech trees are beginning to turn to that lovely fiery colour. They probably provide most of the Autumn colour round here. There are some nice cherries and maples too, of course. I think the trees are late here too.
It seem as if your season is drawn out more than ours, ours peaks for about two weeks and then the trees are bare, not much in the way of a long gradual cooling off here.
I think the slower season really lets you enjoy individual trees more!
Yes I think I prefer a longer Autumn to prepare myself for winter.
I’ll second that!
Your leaf colour is so much more impressive than ours. In fact it hasn’ t really got under way yet here but I think it needs cool nights which we haven’ t had.
Such wonderful tree colour must make your long drive to work much pleasanter.
I’m again envious of your longer season. Someone yet again reminded me today that it would be nearly half a year before new greenery shows up on the tree branches. That’s a lot of winter!
…but for now I am enjoying the drive, although by Monday the leaves are sure to be much thinner.
For the Chicago area 50 minutes is about average. Down in Springfield it’s typically more like 10, except when I drive there and back twice a week which is about four hours.. You’re getting some beautiful color already, ours is not as far along.