by Brett Chedzoy
As I drove through the hills of Cayuta yesterday, I noticed the first signs of an annual occurrence that gives me bittersweet anxiety: fall colors. The range of emotions from delight to dread come from the realization that one of the most beautiful scenes in nature – fall foliage – lies just ahead. The dread, if really that, is the brevity of this natural marvel – followed by a long winter absent of the infinite hues of green that we take for granted for barely half of the year.
In hindsight, the 2025 growing season will go down in the books as “average”; though people whose livelihoods depend on the weather know that it was another roller coaster starting out way too dry, then way too wet, followed by the past two months uncomfortably dry again – at least for those of us looking to delay hay feeding to our animals.
The onset of fall colors seems a bit earlier than normal this year. If I were to guess, I would blame it on the aftermath of foliar fungal diseases that benefited from the May monsoons, coupled with some increasing drought stress as the growing season winds down. Despite the multitude of stresses that this weather variability causes for trees, I’m certain that another spectacular show lies ahead on every tree and forest-covered hillside. Don’t forget to look around and enjoy it while it lasts!
And if you need an excuse to get outdoors and learn what’s really happening in the woods these days, join us for our annual forestry practicum at Cornell’s Arnot Forest on Thursday, September 25th. For details, visit the “Sustaining a World-Class Forest Resource Through Slash Walls and Silviculture” registration page today.
