Fall colors…. so bright and intense and beautiful. It’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary. ~Siobhan Vivian, bestselling American novelist
The estimated peak time for Fall color in Central Illinois is mid-October, but I’ve found that estimate to be off by a bit this year.
Still, all one has to do is get outside — regardless of cold, rain, and the urge to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate! — and the trees are ready to strut their stuff. Take a look and enjoy!
The dogwood (below) is a deep shade of plum. Such a nice contrast from its pink flowers in the springtime:
This, I think, is a sugar maple, hardy for most of the U.S., except the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean areas. Looks like somebody’s got some raking to do:
I found this interesting — deep purple color in a mostly green tree:
And this one’s wearing orange:
So is this one:
This is one of our late color-changers, but I’ll bet it will be stunning:
This is a hedge of something called Burning Bush, which puts on a brilliant red in Fall:
Here’s another house with Burning Bushes:
These beauties are dressed in yellows and gold; their neighbors had better catch up:
Here’s another variety of maple, this time in red:
As you can see, some trees are already dropping their leaves; others haven’t even begun the annual color change:
I hope you enjoyed our outing. I wanted to do a post like this for Robin’s Walktober, but the colors didn’t cooperate. If we can get past some of this rain, Fall will be a splendid time for getting outside and taking photos!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
These are absolutely glorious, Debbie. The trees are beautiful, of course, but your photos show them off wonderfully well. I especially like seeing trees that are “in process.” The fully colored orange, yellow, and red trees are wonderful, each of those colors goes very nicely with green.
Of course, I’m green with envy. This time of year is when I most regret not being in the midwest any more. I try to overcome my jealousy by reminding myself of frozen door locks and chipping ice off auto windshields. It’s not foolproof, but it helps!
Linda, your comment gave me a good chuckle! I didn’t think we’d have pretty Fall colors this year because of the challenging weather conditions, but surprisingly, here they are. The dusting of snow we got on Halloween probably helped with the color change — for sure, it helped with the leaf-dropping!
You’re so right — this is a lovely time of year, as is spring. But those frozen locks and ice-covered windshields are a pain. Not to mention having a long-haired dog who insists on going outside and rolling in the snow, then returning with icy balls attached to his furs!
Debbie, your photographs are BEAUTIFUL! It was pretty much the same here in Philadelphia this October. We had a bit of Fall color, but not like past years. You definitely got much more than we did. I’m going to NYC tomorrow (Central Park), hoping to capture more color. I’m thinking that because it’s usually a bit colder in NY, their foliage will be a bit more dramatic than ours.
The colors you captured in your photos are SPECTACULAR! You live in such a lovely area. It’s got such a wonderful cozy-comfy-warm look about it.
Isn’t Fall the best season of all?
Thanks so much for sharing your outing, my friend! Really enjoyed it!
Have a great Sunday! X
Happy Fall-color seeking in NYC, Ron! If nothing else, I know you’ll enjoy a chance to get into the city you love.
It makes me happy to hear how much you enjoyed my photos. I suspect they’d look even better if I’d touched them up a bit, but I wanted everybody to see just what I was seeing — which was amazing. We’re supposed to have temps in the 50s for much of this coming week, so I’ll bet I’m not the only one out taking pictures of nature.
Happy Sunday; Happy workweek! xo
Beautiful photos, Debbie. Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad you found them enjoyable, John. Thank you for telling me so!
They are beautiful
Wow, Debbie – these trees are glorious!! Thank you for sharing. Our fall colors have been coming & going the past few weeks, but now that the deep reds are out, it’s hard not to drive off the road! Hugs! 🍁🤪🍁
So delighted you enjoyed them, Virginia! We’re almost at full peak color now, which means (sadly) that winter is right around the corner. I know what you mean about looking at them so intently — better to look while you’re walking than when you’re driving though!!