“You can come back next week and help us rake that up,” he said. He’s a member and ubiquitous volunteer at the church I attend, and he was talking about the Ginkgo tree I was photographing with my cell phone. We both laughed.

One of this autumn’s final blazes of glory

Fall is probably the season when I first fell in love with trees, not because of the raking that always has to happen, but because of the sheer beauty and variety of fall trees.

Because the rains have come back, so has morning fog, and the quiet serenity of foggy mornings has given way the last few days to brilliant shows of sunlight streaming through lovely colors hanging in the trees. Here’s a close up of the Ginkgo. (By the way, if this fun article in the Atlantic is correct, I should go back tomorrow to help rake up the Ginkgo leaves.)

My own backyard is still a striking scene, with this tree having held onto its leaves the longest. Despite the promise of lots of raking and gutter cleaning, I’m relishing its display.

I have tried, and failed, to count the different colors I see on this tree.

Some of the leaves don’t even seem real to me. They’re perfectly “fall” colored.

I was catching up with my parents this past weekend, and they told me this had been a most beautiful fall, perhaps they most beautiful they’ve seen in North Carolina. It got a slow start but made up for it both there and here during its last hurrah. I’ve only been here for three autumns, but without a doubt, this one has been the most beautiful of the three. I’m grateful for the chance to relish the season and its own particular beauty.

There’s another season just around the corner, bringing different kinds of color with it. But I sure have enjoyed this fall. I hope you have, too.

There’s still a little room for the color orange in the coming season.

I hope you’ll join me next week, and throughout the Christmas season, as I revisit one of my favorite Christmas series that I first shared with you several years ago. I was stunned to note *how many* years ago. Tempus fugit … a little faster every year, right?