Fall's fading fast

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year. And October my favorite month (maybe that's why I decided to get married in it ;) This year, we had predictions fall colors were going to be yucky because we had a bit of a summer drought.

When Nick and I paid a visit to Brown County last month, I didn't think the trees could be any prettier than what I saw there. But I was wrong ...

Even though November has crept up on us (a month known as much for Thanksgiving as the onset of that lovely shade of color known as "winter drab"), our neighborhood in Muncie has had the most BEAUTIFUL pop of color -- brilliant reds, yellows and oranges -- that's seemed to come overnight.

I knew there was a good chance the colors weren't going to stick around long enough for the weekend. So I took my camera during lunch break yesterday and this is what I caught standing in our front yard (okay, the one of the hedges is right around the corner, and it's not a spectacular shot by any means, but the color is so vibrant I wanted to share with everyone what I've see on my way to work every day this week.)

Too bad fall couldn't last more than a few weeks, huh?


The tree right outside our den's front window has dropped the most vibrant colors of leaves and, while they're a total pain in the rear for Nick and I to rake up -- they're too beautiful to complain too much about:


Our neighborhood has some of the most mature, beautiful trees in the city. This is looking out to our neighbors' yard. Had I time to take a "nature walk" of the 'hood, I would have had countless photos like this:


What is it about gold and blue that works so well together?:

Here's those hedges I was talking about. Do you suppose the person who planted these 30 years ago had any idea he would one day stop traffic with these guys?: