I feared that the recent winds would have brought down all the colorful leaves from the trees around here. But, happily, I was wrong! Yesterday I took a short walk around my house and found some bright colors still hanging around (literally!).

Let’s start with our own backyard. We have three Japanese maple trees, which have three color phases. For most of the year they are a mixture of green and maroon. In the fall, they turn more reddish, and in early November, they turn bright red. For the last couple of weeks, I have been taking photos of all three trees daily to see if I can track the changes.

So far, the tree Hubby called Fluffy has been gradually turning redder. Here’s what it looks like today.

The trees below are along the fence that encloses our water tower.

This one is in a neighbor’s yard.

This one is from the neighbor next door to the one above.

These bright colors just lift the mood of anyone walking by. There’s a reason that fall is my favorite season!