Fall colors

View to the west behind my cabin, with Nell's Hill in the distance

As best as I can tell at the moment, the fall color change peaked this weekend here in southern Pennsylvania. As autumn colors go, this is not the best year I’ve ever seen. However, there’s no such thing as an ugly fall, so less-than-spectacular does not equal awful or even not-great. The forest is still quite pretty, though the colors seem a bit muted or at least not as bright as when they are at their best.

There is no arguing with the weather this weekend. Sunny and clear brought out the leaf lookers in droves. The temperature is not what I would call crisp, except perhaps in the early morning. It’s a bit too much on the warm side for that, but the temperature is perfectly pleasant, and there’s certainly no harm in that.

I am blaming the less than perfect fall color on the extreme July heat and dryness. Many of the leaves are curled and brown on the edges, with fall color only in the center of the individual leaves. The leaves that have fallen are as dry as old paper, crackling underfoot when I step on them. Deer hunters had better hope for a little rain or stalking deer or even walking quietly to a deer stand won’t be possible.

I have yet to hear or see any on those huge flocks of waterfowl, usually Canada geese, that can fill the skies during October. The main flight path isn’t always over Roundtop, so it’s possible this year falls into that category. Or, perhaps I haven’t been able to see them because the sky is clear and the birds are migrating at such a height that they aren’t visible or audible. Or perhaps the weather just hasn’t been bad enough to get them moving. Any of those choices are possible, and it could well be another 3-4 weeks before I know what the reason is.

Suddenly, ticks have made an unwelcome reappearance. I’ve pulled them off both me and the dogs this weekend. The stinkbugs are still around, too, unfortunately. I’ll be happy to see them disappear sooner rather than later.