Autumn in the Mountains

There are times of the year when I complain about living in the mountains, like last winter when it started to snow in mid-December and we did not see the ground until sometime in March.

But for the most part each season up here has its own magic about it. In the winter when you are lucky enough to wake up on Christmas Day to a fresh snowfall, in the spring when the Daffodils and Tulips burst forth into bloom. They are then followed by the Azaleas and Rhododendrons.

The summer with cool temps and outdoor concerts is wonderful, but nothing and I mean nothing beats fall in the mountains.

The air is crisp in the early morning and late afternoon. You inhale deeply and smell the smoke from wood fires in the houses as people ward off the gathering chill. Apples are abundant. Mums decorate most houses with their bright colors.

But the best part is getting to watch the leaves change. We were blessed with some brilliant colors this year.



This tree decided to get a jump on its neighbors by turning bright red when everyone else was just thinking about turning.


Check out the large, green tree on the far right hand side of the photo,,,,,,


This is the same tree 2 days later. It pretty much turned overnight from green to this beautiful color.







This was a long distance shot taken from the very top of our mountain. By Saturday afternoon the colors had peaked at the higher elevations but the valleys still had some great color.