An afternoon walk around the block in the Syracuse city neighborhood on Eastwood with Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle on August 16, 2014 allowed a glimpse of change to come.
You can see them turning.
Not every tree, but every once in a while, a certain tree had that look.
Autumn is on its way to the northeast.
The leaves can’t lie.
The changes are starting where they always take hold first, out there on the branches. Green is losing its grip.
The vibrancy is fading.
Let’s go orange.
In some trees, the transition occurs one patch at a time, one burst of color first, one ball of contrast against the palate of conformity.
Often the renegade hangs out on the edges.
This shift is on fire.
Others trees fall right off the cliff, changing at once, adopting a blazing hue, obtaining a brightness that attracts the attention of man and beloved rescue dog from three houses down.
This tree will soon be brown, dry, then bare.
Now, though, isn’t she a beauty in full, a sign of one season giving way to another with a shout instead of a whimper?
What are your favorite signs of summer changing to fall? What are your favorite colors of autumn leaves? When you were growing up, what art projects using leaves did you present to your parents?
Mark Bialczak 
Put the extra hoodie in my car as a just-in-case. The weather, it is a-changin’ … After all, we upstate New Yorkers have to accept the reality that the NYS Fair has arrived.
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It’s time for the night chilldown, my friend. Holy cow, summer went fast.
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I’ve noticed it here in the Valley of the Sun, too. Not that we get much in the way of color. And it is still hot during the day. But the mornings are lovely and cool. I can turn off the air conditioner at night and open my front door. Orion is gracing the sky.
It’ll probably be hot until at least October, but some years it stays that way through to November, so I am not complaining!
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Climate change. What a neutral little handle they’ve put on the way the earth is reacting to what we’ve done to it, Ms. This, I think, is one of the changes, a non-threatening result.
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I agree, Mark. As much as I enjoy these cool mornings, I can’t help but wonder what the winter will hold for those in the temperate zones. I truly hope you all get a break this year.
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Thank you Ms. I do not want another like last year.
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I miss the beautiful colored leaves so much! Here, we get green, green, green and brown. Brown is only when there’s a bad freeze. My favorite autumn project as a kid was when we would take crayon shavings and pour them on a construction paper tree and cover it with wax paper then iron it. But of course, we didn’t have real autumn leaves to craft with. 🙂
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But at least you learned how to be crafty, Rachel! Better than not learning how to be crafty, my friend.
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LOL! Ah, so true! 🙂
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You know, I’ve been afraid of this very thing. It’s been so bloody cold out that I was afraid the flora and fauna were all going to be tricked into thinking it’s autumn. This morning when I got to my bus station at 5:10 I froze my ass off. It’s the middle of August, for cryin’ out loud! I want a refund.
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I know. Freaking polar vortex in August.
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I love autumn – and here there are some changes in the north of England. Not so yet in London (but i shall look more closely now). I can’t remember doing autumn craft as a child but when I was a teacher we did leaf printing. I loved it as much as the kids.
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I can picture you loving the leaf printing along with the students, Rachel. Fun!
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I have to admit, I’m a spring and autumn gal. I love the turtlenecks, the nip in the air, the lovely colors. And the feeling that it’s ok to hunker down by the fire and read a good book:).
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It’ll be here before we know it, Kay, and you’ll be able to do all the hunkering down you want!
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Yes fall is a pretty color especially up there with you. I guess we have another week or so to see our changes.
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Please keep Autumn down in your neck of the woods for as long as possible. Thank you! 🙂
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You’ve got it, Austin. I just put the big dome up!
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🙂
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Already? It’s only mid-August!! Your red trees are the only autumn trees I see.
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The other trees have green fading to brown, Kerbey. It’s hard to see in the photos, but it’s happening.
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Mark, I clicked like because you’re a great writer with wonderful observation skills, not because summer is giving way to fall. I just felt I had to be clear about that… 😀
Diana xo
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Clear to me, Diana, and much appreciated! 🙂
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Love that tree. You had a quick summer, we’re still getting triple digit hot days.
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Wow. That’s still an oven, Dora. I hope you get some relief. We’re bound to heat up again, but the fall cycle is starting, for sure.
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What vibrancy! I absolutely love fall. I am not quite there yet, I feel as if I didn’t get to enjoy summer as much as I had hoped to. Please don’t let it be over yet…pretty please?
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You’ve earned yourself an extension, Mrs. B. I hope you get it, my friend, pretty please from me, too! 🙂
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Yep, Fall is in the air, my friend. Some trees have begun to change here as well. OH NO! (((HUGS))) Amy
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I know, right, Amy? Dagnabbit!
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LOL I must laugh even though the thought of um cold I shudder. Oh, Mark, neighbor, what will we do IF winter is like last? Dangnummit! I’m right there with ya!
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It cant be Amy. I refuse to believe we will have a freezing encore.
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Well, my friend, I will believe with you. Farmers are saying cold September here, and I have actually begun to close down parts of my gardens. And then I see new growth. HUH? So what do I do? I decided to wait a bit. I BELIEVE God will spare us another brutal winter and this one will be MILD. From my lips to God’s ears.
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Nothing wrong with a good shout Mark. 😉 I went to nature it’s self yesterday. There were a lot of different shades of green and a whole lotta green at that. But I’m going back when the colors are changing and bursting. My favorite time of year. I just wish it lasted longer. 🙂
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We’ll have a good month of change at least, Colleen. I hope!
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Me too! Too many years though we’ve had a wind fueled storm that took it all away in a matter of days. Here’s to much and long lived color!
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the colors here in our piney woods have yet to show much, but the goldenrod, asters, thistles and even some repeat daisies are showing off. I notice in my paintings that I lean toward oranges and reds. Thanks for the walk around eastwood
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I like your color choices, Martha. Must be lovely in the piney woods right now.
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right now, it is green and rain. I have been painting green all summer. Greens are hard to paint and look even somewhat real. Not that I dwell on reality in my paintings 🙂
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I like what you do with your imagination, from what you share with us, Martha!
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Wow, you guys are getting leaf changes? It’s early for that here (in Ottawa) and likely won’t start for another month or so. It is so odd how some trees change and others don’t until later – even if they are side by side. Or half a tree will and the other half won’t There was a tree last year that I saw regularly that the bottom half changed, dried out and went bare before the top half even started to color. It looked like male tree baldness upside down. Ha!
I can remember collecting leaves and pressing them between pieces of waxed paper in books to save them. I can remember doing collages on bristol board but not much else. I’m sure we did more, it’s just a matter of memory.
Thanks for the post Mark, brough back memories
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I can’t figure out the timing or patterns either, Paul, so I just try to admire Mother’s work of art. It’s much better than my lousy attempts as a kid, with my tongue stuck out of the corner of my mouth. Leaves to paper with paste was about it for me, my friend!
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i’ve been feeling and noticing the same thing mark. love your shoutout to ‘orange.’ ) i love the oranges and golds the best. i love the fall leaves and love to do all kinds of projects with them, why i get my class and grands to do them with me )
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They are the perfect vehicle for you, the grands and the students, my friend. Projects galore, of all colors for you. I love it, Beth.
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