Autumn Leaves Are Falling, Falling

A strong autumn wind has been scouring our giant oak trees free of dead leaves. Our driveway is blanketed with a crispy, curly brown carpet.
The weather changed abruptly on the first day of fall, September 21st. Our warm mountain summer disappeared, literally overnight, when temperatures dipped below freezing that same night.
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The sudden change in temperature quickly brought about the annual coloring of the non-evergreen trees. We get many visitors from the Phoenix and Tucson areas this time of year, just to enjoy the changing of the leaves.

The above photo of a tree in my front yard was taken on October 7th. Golden brown fronds were just beginning to curl among the green.

This is the same tree (from the opposite side) yesterday, October 17th. In just 10 days the wind has made a good start of stripping the branches.

Jacob and Dylan spent a good part of yesterday raking and bagging leaves and pine needles. Our resourceful neighbor Barbara took half the bags off our hands for her compost pile. (She also likes our rabbits' poop.)

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Dylan clambered onto the roof to clean out the rain gutters. We could have snow any time in the next few weeks, so it's a dirty job that couldn't wait.

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Following my doctor's orders, I'm trying to make time to walk more often. The following photos were all taken during yesterday's walk around my neighborhood.

Living in an evergreen forest as we do, we don't get the vivid oranges and brilliant reds you see in the autumn forests back East. But I still love to see the pale greens and yellows, the browns and oranges and brownish oranges, peeping out among the tall pines.

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I adore every season. That's why I choose to live in an area where we can enjoy all 4 distinct seasons. Yet there is something special about fall, when the leaves change and the air becomes crisp and the smell of woodsmoke fills the air.

I love passing this tree every morning on my way to work. It's called a quaking aspen because its thousands of tiny, round leaves dance in the slightest breeze. It makes the entire tree seem to shimmer. And now it's shimmering gold.

No autumn colors here, but I think this open field is beautiful. It looks so rustic.

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Welcome, Autumn, to our mountain home!