Autumn in Full Glory

With autumn's arrival in earnest three weeks ago, the leaves have finally caught up with the calendar and are in their full glory in my part of eastern New York State. They've been well into peak color up north of me in the Adirondacks, but my area a bit farther south takes a little while to get into full swing, but we're there now and it has been a colorful season, if just a shade late to arrive.

I recall autumn seasons when we were at full, peak color in early October, but it is always driven by the arrival of colder temperatures that precipitate a real, vibrant leaf color change. We have had a fairly warm late summer and early fall, so, while I'm not complaining about that, we only had one night when temperatures  dropped into the mid-30s  - not quite a hard frost - to help hasten the usual change of hues this year. Still, it's great to have the leaves be well underway now, as this truly is my favorite time of year in this region. I'll be sad when it's all done and the time change back to standard time brings the end of daylight after 5pm - it's a real adjustment and, by contrast, the start of my least favorite time of year as winter looms closer. I'll be glad when we round the corner into the new year and the daylight begins to return, day by day.

Until then, I'll be out enjoying Mother Nature's greatest display and gathering my favorite harvest-time ingredients for hearty autumn dishes to warm those chillier nights to come!