I might have mentioned this before, but I love autumn, and one of my difficulties with now living in Phoenix, AZ, is the Valley's near complete lack of autumn. True, the heat that presses down upon the Valley in summer lessens considerably, loses its intensity, and in the autumn and winter months we do enjoy cool weather and sometimes beautiful rainy days. However, this is not the autumn I am familiar with, being a born-and-bred Midwesterner. Four fully and uniquely defined seasons are a beautiful thing; they help to provide the punctuation of change that is needed to observe a sense of moving forward and appreciate that which is passing. One aspect I really miss right now is the change in leaf color that occurs in autumn, with green giving way to leaf shades of red, orange, and gold. As we always say in the Valley, you have to drive north to Flagstaff or Sedona, or to Prescott, to get a taste of autumn in Arizona. But this week, driving through the South Mountain community, I was pleasantly surprised to see a band of street-front trees partially changing leaf color to a shade of burnt red. This afternoon, determined to enjoy a local version of autumn without having to drive two or so hours north, I journeyed to the site where these trees are planted and here are two photos from my encounter with ever-elusive autumn in the Valley. Part of the red I was seeing were bunches of berries the trees bear, but other parts are actual changes in leaf color, as you can see above. I confess I have no idea as to the type of tree these are, but they gave me the wonderful gift of enjoying autumn "right in my own backyard." Many thanks.
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