Fall is on its on way and last night I was thinking of the next few months in terms of waves of color approaching from the north. Right now everything is a lush green dotted with yellow and blue flowering weeds. Up in the north somewhere though a wave of reds, orange, yellow has started that will slowly work its way south. During the first few weeks of October, that wave will pass through the area that I live in, and the hills surronding me will be awash with with it. A few weeks later the red will fade, and greys and browns will reach us. Then in late November, a first wave of white will wash up against us. At first the white will lap up against our southern temperate shores, briefly soaking us and then retreating as snow melts and the temperature flows and ebbs. By the end of December though, the waves of white will overwhelm the greys and browns, covering us for the months of Winter, only to retreat north again as temperatures rise in March and April.

IMHO this is the place to be when the wave of red hits. The hills around me are absolutely gorgeous in early October. To the south, trees other than maples dominate and instead of bright reds you get more faded oranges and yellows. To the north it is flatter and you can't enjoy the wonderful vistas that our hills bring. It's not completely forested here either like some other areas and the open fields that dominate about fifty percent of the landscape serve to highlight the brightness of the woods around them. There are also a number of gorges with beautiful waterfalls that turn spectacular.

A lot of people complain about the cold and humidity, but this is the time of the year when we are all glad to be here.