After ten days traveling on the East Coast, I’m suffering from a serious case of leaf envy. Starting with the Shenandoah Valley and ending at the Charles River my trip was awash with the sunset colors we rarely see on our trees here in California.  Oh, the leaves change alright. But they do so with a quiet whisper, not the full on Hallelujah Chorus of the trees lining Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

Or the pots of gold shimmering in Fort Tryon Park near The Cloisters.

They don’t pierce the October sky the same way the magnificent red maple did along the Charles (top photo) or blanket the entire landscape with an exquisite tapestry of fall colors like these layered leaf vignettes at Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

We may handily win every other season, but to those living on the East Coast–your autumns rule!