Leaf peeping

I grew up in Massachusetts and I don't miss the freezing rain and snow but I do miss the leaves changing. My neighbor had a maple tree with leaves that started out purple and changed to flaming red in the fall. Leaf peeping season is in full swing back east and I wish I could teleport there for a day to see the riot of color.

Here in California the trees do lose their leaves, but it's pretty pathetic. They shrivel up, turn brown and get blown off by the Santa Ana winds--a hot, dry wind you might find in hell, that whips through the southland in the fall, raising temperatures and plunging humidity levels into the teens or single digits. After living on the east coast, then Ireland, I never thought I'd live in a place where I'd need a humidifyer to breathe comfortably at night!