The colors of fall were unbeatable this year. Some flocked to New England in search of spectacular leaf displays, but here in New Jersey we had a show that I’ll bet was unrivalled by any other place you could name.
On the way to the New Jersey School Boards Association convention in October, I passed through a Pine Barrens that was ablaze with yellows and reds for mile after mile. It wasn’t just there; it was all over New Jersey, and people everywhere could not stop commenting on how lovely it was.
Sadly, not every fall season is worthy of such praise. The soggy, cloudy ones don’t do much for anybody. Their colors are dull and muted. In 2024, we had the great advantage, if you would call it that, of unseasonable dryness. This was the secret ingredient for the technicolor displays in everyone’s neighborhood.
Lurking in the background, of course, was perhaps the influence of climate change. Week after week, month after month, where was the rain? Why weren’t there any clouds?
Throughout New Jersey there were warning signs pleading with people not to choose this time to light campfires or burn trash. The state was a hair-trigger tinderbox at the same time as being a treasure house of beauty.
All great things have this sort of fragility about them. They are utterly distracting, yet one small thing can change the picture. Our democracy is like this, for instance.
However, fall is ephemeral by nature and comes crashing down leaf by leaf. The brown crackle of leaves underfoot is the next step in the cycle. Then come the gray skies, the winter chills, and the yellowy light from windows in houses huddling against the darkness.
Spring will be with us once again. The rebirth is inevitable and shows more courage than we do, with green shoots and crocuses before the frost has fully gone.
Many of us prefer the warmest of weather before we venture out. There is surely a reward for those who catch the first taste of spring or defy the winter’s mood and mingle boots and coats with exposure to the cold.
Be among the latter group and join Sierra Club leaders on a hike in coming days. Or help us advocate for positive change. Don’t allow the chill to settle in.