Paint by Numbers

It's usually around mid-October that most of the fall foliage magic begins to happen in central Pennsylvania. When I went away to my conference last week, there was almost nothing. Still green. A few days later, when we came back, I noticed things had started to change.

On this morning, I took a little drive along Spring Creek on my way to work, to see what was happening with the trees. It was just beginning to drizzle at the time, and I hopped out of my car and quickly snapped a few photos. You can see some gentle raindrops on the surface of the water.

This is the spillway I've posted photos of before. It's apparently a favorite photo op (links to more blip-pics below), though the lovely Madonna and Child statue that used to be here is gone now. I miss them still, every time I visit.

But here's the news: the colors are starting! It's like magic. One day you drive by and everything is normal. The next, there is something a bit different about the scene. The ordinary has been transformed into something special and amazing.

It's as though everything has been painted by elves! There are oranges and yellows and golds; the reds are usually close to last, and I haven't seen many of those yet.

You know what this means, don't you? It's time for me to go and see, go and see. I'll be taking most of next week off to go on a number of day trips with my husband to watch the show. (Tuesday is our wedding anniversary too, so there are many things worth celebrating in mid-October.)

It's been far too warm here; unseasonably so. But next week will bring more typical crisp, blue-sky October days, with highs in the 60s F. Of course, I'll post the best of what I see right here, so keep watching these pages, though I may be running a bit behind because I shall be out adventuring!

The song to accompany this posting is Al Stewart, with Paint by Numbers.

P.S. Here are some additional blip pics of this same spillway:
Blue Canyon
The Valley of the Low, Low Sun
Spillway, in Monochrome
Peace
Water Over the Spillway
Impression: Leaf Art on the Spillway