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FALL FOLIAGE
» YEARS IN REVIEW 
2002
- This was about as big as a foliage dud could get. The ongoing
drought along with other factors led to one of the most drab,
lifeless displays anyone can remember. The foliage turn
happened incredibly late in the fall, most places still had fully
leafed out trees in early to mid November. Most people who
made mid October reservations to see the foliage missed the show
altogether. The only plus was an abundance of early season
snowfalls in late October and early November. Even the drab
foliage of this year looked nice with a little snow on it.
Here's hoping to a return to normal next year...see you then!
2001
- Some of the locals had predicted that the extremely dry summer
of 2001 would lead to dull and boring foliage. Overall, that
was not the case, but the absence of rain did not go entirely
unnoticed, if under close examination. A small percentage of trees
turned yellow in mid August were bare by September. Small scale
areas of hard hit trees were evident on southerly facing rocky
slopes or in areas which repeatedly escaped summer
thunderstorms. Sugar Maples, in our past observances, have
tended to be brighter in dry years, although it's usually not
quite as long lived. This year, the sugar maples were
stunning, so the theory stands. The show was not as long
lasting as usual, but it was still spectacular. Unusually
warm weather made viewing a pleasure, and rainy days were
non-existent. As usual, mother nature can fight through the
toughest of conditions and put on a great fall foliage display
every year. See you again next time!
2000
- The foliage season of the year 2000 was one of the brightest
seen in a long time. Past years have had duller foliage and
a shorter peak time due to too much or too little rain over the
summer and early fall months. We had a wet and cool summer
this year but a dry fall has appeared to balance things out
nicely. There were only a few noticeably windy days and very
few rainy days, which allowed the foliage to cling far longer than
past years. In all, this was about a perfect as a foliage
season could get. The only negative would be that during the
peak time, there was a few days with low clouds which made taking
photos with a nice clear blue sky a challenge, but not impossible,
to get. We look forward to next year and wish mother nature
the best of luck in topping this years foliage.
