The blessings tied to living in the Appalachians are many, but perhaps none rival the change of seasons from summer to fall. No matter the number of autumns one is blessed to live in the High Country of North Carolina, the allure of this time of year falls somewhere between awe-inspiring and heart-stirring. The images on this page, taken by the author along the Blue Ridge Parkway and parts nearabout, give but a glimpse of why it’s a privilege to live in a world where magical Octobers talk to you.
Summer’s warmth has only just recently passed. Invigorating daytime temps slide into the 60s, then the 50s, and occasionally touch the 40s upon darkness and through the early morning dew. Crisp mornings bring out long-sleeved shirts and flannels, and nighttime reminds us that it’s okay to live in sweatpants and sweatshirts. Pumpkins appear on roadside stands along with cider, apple butter, crafts and other goodies. Gusty winds bring porch chimes to their resonating peak. Fall-scented candles deliver their unmistakable bouquet, as do all-things-pumpkin-spice. Fall festivals dot weekend agendas. Corn mazes pop up in fields. It’s time to prepare the fire pit and the woodpile and ensure a stash of hot chocolate and ingredients for s’mores is in the pantry. And fall’s family-based holidays — Halloween and Thanksgiving — kindle calendar-planning discussions amongst kith and kin.
Autumn Is My Favorite Color
Everywhere one looks, sunburnt leaves are putting on a show worthy of the finest kaleidoscope. Blazing scarlets, warm oranges, golden yellows, crisp browns. Every leaf is seemingly a brilliant flower competing for best-in-show in their last days on their hosts. It’s as if an Old Master has dipped his brush in a rainbow and swept it across a pallet that reaches toward the skies in a riot of colors. Heaven’s cloudless October-sky canopy is bluer than a sapphire. There is wondrous beauty in every direction.
Denouement
Seemingly as quickly as the magic of the leaves’ radiance reaches its zenith, the maestro who is Mother Nature builds her High Country symphony to a grand finale. Leaves begin to drop — first a leaf here or there, then dozens at a time, then in waves — fluttering down in showers of colors, soaring and dancing on now windy days. As the majesty of the trees begins to lose their “coat of many colors,” beauty is transferred to the landscape below. Leaves rustle along the streets, carpeting a countryside mural of rolling hills, lakes and creeks in a seemingly never-ending cascade of moving colors. An unknown author once penned, “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”
There is never a bad time to be a guest of the High Country and our magnificent Appalachian / Allegheny / Blue Ridge Mountains. But I’m partial to the arresting beauty that unfolds each autumn. Next year, y’all come.
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LSomerbyCooke Addendum …
I believe trees and leaves too often get a pass in our lives. Check out my thoughts on why they and other things are underrated with a visit here. Learn more about High Country living here. Enjoy!
Linda Brown
Beautiful photography. I also love fall — we just returned from up north (Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York). Fall is definitely a beautiful time of the year. Thank you for sharing the beautiful photographs. Waking up every morning to these beautiful scenes is a true blessing. Congratulations to you and Deb for choosing such a beautiful part of the country to enjoy your retirement.
Jake
I really miss the colors of fall. Being a resident of Alabama, I have a different fall experience. We call it fail because that’s what the leaves do. The leaves turn brown and drop. I did get the chance to get to Pennsylvania for a wedding last month and the colors were amazing! I spent two days with my sister and spent most of my time looking at the hills and trees remembering what it was like to live in Maryland. Lee, you are a lucky man. The guy who really has it bad is Sudden Sam Dannaway. He only has one season — beautiful!
Debby Lutz-Roberts
Absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Thanks for sharing with those of us who don’t get to see that breathtaking view every day!
Reed Sprague
Your words do your pictures justice, Lee. That’s not easy to do when it comes to pictures of fall’s beauty. We are several hundred miles south/southwest of you. Our mountains (the southern end of your mountain range) are mostly bumps in the ground down here with an occasional multi-colored hill to admire this time of year. If we drive fifty or so miles north we get a few bigger hills and some of your color, but mostly we’re jealous.
C Richard Joyner
Well documented and the pictures are awesome. Great depiction of what so many people miss by not venturing out to the open spaces in our lives.
Marie West
Beautiful pictures, Lee. Thanks for sharing with us Florida folks.
Duane E Barrett
Well said my brother. I hope there is still color left in the trees this weekend as we get together in Lake Lure to enjoy time with our siblings.
Ann Delehant
Beautiful and descriptive of the beauty. I too live, not in a high country, but in a place of autumn beautiful. I am partial to spring and it’s impossible to ignore the beauty of fall.
Gary Handleman
Beautiful! Leaves changing is just a big WOW. We just got back from the Hudson Valley in New Paltz, NY. Great small town to visit. We saw some wonderful colors there, too. We could do it over and over. Those shots of yours are breathtaking. Thanks for sharing.