A SUBTLE BEGINNING

BLACK ASH TREES IN THE SWAMPS ARE TURNING YELLOW

SUMACS ARE TURNING RED

SUGAR MAPLES ARE TURNING ORANGE

Saturday, 8:00 AM. 60 degrees F at the ferry dock, 60 on the back porch.  Wind ENE, calm at present.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, after a brief storm last night.  The humidity is 98%, the barometer steady at 29.83".  Today's high will be in the high 70's, and there is again a chance of a thunderstorm tonight.  The forecast calls for clearing skies for a few days, then more unsettled weather, with high temperatures in the 60's to low 70's.
   All the rain and humid weather have delayed somewhat the onset of fall leaf colors, and those that have materialized are rather muted.  
   The leaf-peeping season is having a rather subtle beginning:  the black ash in the woody swamps and bottom lands are now a pale, soft yellow; the sumacs are turning their characteristic blood red, as are the red maples; the sugar maples are morphing from green to orange.  The effect is a soft, gentle mix of early colors, as ethereal as the rains and mists they emerge from.
   Whether the colors intensify with the lengthening fall season or whether they remain gentle and discreet is anybody's guess, but they will probably become more pronounced as time goes by.  But they are bound to be beautiful, either way, and with all this moisture the leaves are almost certain to remain on the trees a long time, unless we get an early hard frost or high winds.  But the final arbiter of it all is day length, which will not be denied. 
   Winter is inevitable, and it is not likely to be subtle.