Fall Colors

I've been heading across the mountain to preach at Faith Lutheran in Bristol, Tennessee since the first Sunday in June.  Even from the first trip across the mountains, I have been looking forward to seeing how the trees would change as autumn approached.  As early as late July, I was seeing some yellow leaves here and there, plus a tree that burst into red long before the rest.

On October 1, I didn't make the trip across the mountains; I was coming home from Lutheranch in western Georgia.  I was worried I might have missed the peak of color, but last week, Oct. 8, the colors still seemed restrained, still more green than other colors.

Yesterday, October 15, the colors had finally burst through the green.  I am not sure we are at peak yet, and by next week, October 22, I may have missed it.  Yesterday, though, I was awestruck at the color, both the leaves and the sky, which was overcast not brilliant blue, but that seemed to accentuate the colors even more.

My camera doesn't do any of the colors justice, but that's O.K.  As with words, seeing the picture in the future will trigger the memory of the actual experience, which is why I make these blog posts  and offline journal entries and files of photos.

I took the above shot at the Tennessee Welcome Center, where we stop most Sundays on our way across the mountain.  

Last year, I stopped there on my way back to seminary and was delighted by the autumn decorations, like this one that's up again this year:

This year, they have outdone themselves:

I tried to capture the small trees/branches/bushes growing out of the craggy rock faces by the side of the road, but my camera doesn't do well with a moving car:

Perhaps I've found the subject for my next sketch!  Stay tuned.