Bellwether Trees version 2
a Astronomical Autumn began on Sept 22 this year. These photos were taken around that time to document the progress of this year's fall foliage. The color began creeping in slowly around mid-September. It can start with a single leaf or a handful of leaves on an otherwise green tree. It seems to start in the swamps and stressed trees along the road. Here you can see what I call a "bellwether" tree. While this tree has almost entirely cloaked itself in its autumn attire, the rest of the trees in the photo have not even begun the process. A wether is a castrated male sheep. The term "bellwether" refers to the dominant sheep fitted with a bell around its neck that leads the flock. The bell tells the shepherd where the flock is heading. The term then refers to something that helps predict where things are going. Notice that the tree above already has a good start on a fluffy bed of leaf drop to help facilitate our annual Snoopy and Charlie Brown rit...