I just love the colors of Fall, my favorite season of the year.  Finally, after a summer of drought, our Pacific Northwest weather is back to normal.  Rain, wind, gray skies, and cooler temperatures.  Maybe due to the summer drought, our fall colors are especially bright.

Starting in my own back yard, our Japanese Maple trees which are dull maroon or green the rest of the year, have, right on schedule, turned their flaming red.  It takes about a week for them to turn, but they just shine!

This is the one my husband named “Fluffy” in 2003 after we got married.

This one doesn’t get quite as much sunlight as Fluffy, and you can see that it hasn’t quite turned all red yet.  Feel free to suggest a name for it!

This afternoon, I took a book back to the public library in downtown Everett.  On the way back to my car, I looked down at my feet, and saw these fallen Maple leaves on the pavement.  I thought they looked like little messages from Mother Nature. The gray pavement makes a perfect background.

Also outside the library, the contrasting colors of this juniper and Japanese maple caught my eye.

And finally, I noticed this tree on my way to the library, and I just had to get a photo of it on my way back.  I have no idea what kind of tree it is, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed anything quite like it before.

Let me know in the comments if you know what it is!

Happy Autumn to everyone!