The Autumn Spectacular Leaf Show

Mike Leco — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:42:00 GMT

We are now into autumn once again, and the annual changes are beginning. I happen to live in the northeastern part of the USA. Autumn is a great time of year in this part of the country.

The weather is typically very dry with bright sunny days and cool nights. You can still work or play outside in short-sleeved shirts and short pants. In the evening, you can enjoy the cool breezes. In the night, you can sleep comfortably under a warm blanket.

The grand spectacular annual autumn leaf show will soon begin. It typically starts in the far northern states like Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire around the first week in October. The date cannot be accurately predicted, because much depends on the weather and climactic conditions. The show moves south from there, In Pennsylvania, we get it around the middle of October. Further south, it may begin as late as the end of October.

Unfortunately, the far southern states miss out on the annual extravaganza. In Florida, California, Arizona and Texas, they get milder winters without all of the snow and ice that we experience, but they completely miss the great leaf show every autumn. In those warm southern states, their vegetation typically turns brown during the hot summers, then green during the cooler, wetter winters and springs. There is no kaliedoscope of colors during the autumn changes. Many southerners get on tour busses and drive north just to witness our wonderful leaf show.

All of the northern states experience this autumnal change when the leaves on the trees turn from green to other colors before they drop from the branches. In the northeastern states it is the most spectacular. We have forests of mixed hardwood trees including maples, ash, oak, cherry and walnut. Each variety produces a different range of hues during the autumn change. The various varieties of maple produce a vibrant array of bright reds, yellows and oranges. The oaks produce shades of carmine, brown and cordovan. Sumacs turn flaming crimson. Some of the trees even retain their green until the end of the show. Together, they make a kaliedoscope of polychromatic vistas that completely envelop the hills and valleys.

Unfortunately, the show only lasts a few weeks. In the beginning, the forests are predominately green with a few flares of red or yellow from individual maple trees. Within days, the color spreads to include more and more trees, until the whole forest is a profusion of color with bits of green from the last holdouts scattered throughout. By the end of the second week, many of the leaves have dropped to the ground, and the remaining colors are beginning to fade to shades of brown and tan. Eventually, all of the leaves are on the floor of the forest and the trees sadly display only naked branches and twigs.

If youi want to see this spectacular leaf show, plan on visiting the northeastern states sometime during October. Vermont is a popular tourist destination during this time of the year. It has rolling hills and lofty mountains all covered with mixed hardwood forests. The leaf show is extremely picturesque in that state. I would plan on visiting during the first or second week of October. The show should be well underway at that time.

If you visit Pennsylvania or New York, you should time your visit a bit later in the month. The show should reach its peak around the third week in October. In West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, it will probably peak by the end of October.

Life in the USA : leaves

The Autumn Spectacular Leaf Show