Fall Colors - Timeshare on Leaves

I don't know what this blog will be about. This is very unlike me because everytime I post something, it's usually a long drawn thought out thing. That's why they are so infrequent.. But today I want to write something but I don't have anything new to talk about.. This post will just be a result of throwing some words in the air.. Maybe they will stick together and form something on their own. You never know..

The weather's started to change here in Chicago. It's almost fall and the dog days of summer are getting shorter day by day. There are new serials on air. Nip/Tuck and Desperate Housewives will soon rule the spot currently held by Rescue Me and whatever they were showing on ABC. It's getting progressively nippier and we are planning a trip up north to Door County, WI to see the annual fall colors.

I like the fall better than spring. Though spring is a warm and welcome change from the blustery cold weather we have over here, it still doesn't compare to what fall has to offer. During Spring you just have one color - Green but Fall offers you an entire range of colors. It starts with the leaves turing yellow-orange, then to the fiery red and then finally settling down to the somber earthy hues.. In between there are colors that you can't even name. They show up vibrantly for a brief instant of time, and then they are replaced by their close cousins. It's as if they run a timeshare on the leaves. Come in, show yourself to the world and then let yourself out. I wonder where these colors go once their short lease runs out ?

The first time I had seen these colors, it was four years ago. I had come just come in from Bangalore and we made this trip to Virginia Beach in cold november. On the way we stopped at Colonial Williamsburg. There was this small tree in the parking lot and it was flaming red. I had a red Adidas sweatshirt and three of us took pics with the red tree and that sweatshirt. Man that was ages ago but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. It was simply awesome.

To help make this annual trip more worth our time and money, every state's DNR (Department of Natural Resources) runs a weekly fall report where they give the fall color level on a percentage basis. So if it is 10% only some of the trees have started coloring but if it's closer to 80-90% you must try to make the trip as soon as possible to see the colors at their very best. For Door County, it still shows up as 20-30 % so we still have a couple of weeks before we make our journey. Will post some pics if they turn out OK.

Sometimes the very act of throwing out some words does turn up into something worth posting. Will try to remember that in the future :) Enjoy!!