164 Million, minus one
Some 164 million Americans headed shopping yesterday. 164 million minus Darrell Sano.
He “decided to forgo Black Friday and instead venture out into the wind and rain to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden.”
Normally, these gardens would be busy with people on the day following Thanksgiving Day. Darrell figured, correctly, that with steady rain forecasted, he would have the garden “nearly to myself!”
There, he found, “The rain was steady, adding a sheen to the leaves, pathways, and color. The sound of rain was complementary to my solo enjoyment, slowly meandering pathways while ignoring my water-logged shoes.”
While the garden was past peak, he still found it “beautiful and worth a visit. Pockets of color can be found in the Asian garden, with bright red Japanese Maple, Yoshino Cherry, large yellow leaves of Sinocalycanthus covering deep-green ferns, and carpets of red Ampelopsis.”
Some areas of the garden (Northeast) were Past Peak, “where much of the color now resides on the ground.”
Rainy days provide lovely color with “the diffused, soft light and rain” providing “wonderful opportunities for composition layers of branches and leaves, with droplets of water hanging in space in front of a backdrop of texture and patterns.”
Darrell noted that even plants that “were long past peak, such as sunflowers, stood beautifully in the rain, providing a more monochromatic texture worthy to photograph.”
His #OrangeFriday was “wonderful” and “memorable indeed!” No doubt Darrell’s recollections of his wet walk and the images he captured on it will remain personal treasures. Likely, the most memorable out of 164 million experiences that occurred yesterday.
- UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (171′) – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.
Wonderful Walnuts
When bags of fresh walnuts, still in their shells, begin appearing in local markets in November, it’s time to head to the walnut orchards for one of California’s most gilded displays of fall color.
This week, I placed a bowl of plump walnuts and nut cracker on our kitchen counter, while realizing I oughta get cracking north to Chico.
Robert Kermen, who lives in walnut country, beat me to it.
Bob spent #OrangeFriday near Durham, taking this photo of a walnut orchard carpeted with golden leaves.
- Walnut orchards, Durham – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Sensational Sycamore
Thanksgiving Day took Trent Vierra to the Antelope Valley (Palmdale/Lancaster – First Report) to celebrate with family, by way of Wrightwood and Valyermo.
As he descended on CA-2 through Wrightwood (5,935′), Valyermo (3,711′), Palmdale (2,657′) and Lancaster (2,359′), the fall color kept getting better.
Black oak were Past Peak in Wrightwood with only willow and cottonwood left showing orange and gold color.
However, the California sycamore (Platanus racemosa) that Trent saw throughout Valyermo were in a word, Sensational.
Their gnarled and bleached trunks were sculpted into Seussian shapes with their crowns carrying “great copper orange color that served as a great contrast to the crystal blue skies that rain the previous night had created,” Trent described.
He continued that in his home area of Palmdale/Lancaster, “almost all the decorative deciduous trees were at peak color, so the Antelope Valley … is definitely at peak.”
- Wrightwood (5,935′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT.
- Valyermo (3,711′) – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.
- Palmdale (2,657′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Lancaster (2,359′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Orange Friday
It began even before the whipped cream had lost its stiffness on yesterday’s pumpkin pies.
Families left Thanksgiving Day tables early last evening, packed blankets and folding chairs into the backs of SUVs and spent the night huddled along sidewalks waiting ’til dawn to be the first to see fall color.
An argument about who had first placed his folding chair on the sidewalk broke out in front of a particularly beautiful red maple.
Fists were swung. Police were called. Someone posted a cell phone picture on Twitter. It was not of the fight, but of the tree.
Soon, the #OrangeFriday photo was trending and a flash mob arrived to sing:
The falling leaves drift by my window
The falling leaves of red and gold
I see your lips the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to holdSince you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fallSince you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fallI miss you most of all my darling
Autumn Leaves lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
When autumn leaves start to fall
Giving Thanks and Looking Back at 2018
On this Thanksgiving Day, CaliforniaFallColor.com is thankful to the many color spotters and photographers who contributed reports, photographs and videos in 2018.
They include (from first turned leaf reported): Jeff Luke Titcomb, Lisa Wilkerson-Willis, Anson Davalos, Walt Gabler, Chico Hiking Association, Lance Pifer, Peter Asco, Liz Grans, Alicia Vennos, Cindy Hoover, Michael Beatley, David Senesac, Kathy Smith, Jared Smith, Elliot McGucken, Will Ridgway, Ursula Esser, Toru Takahashi, Clayton Peoples, Herb Hwang, David Olden, Rodney Chai, Mark Harding, Alena Nicholas, Gigi de Jong, Matthew Pacheco, Jeff Simpson, Julia Ellis, Martha Fletcher, Josh Wray, Shelley Hunter, Dave Butler, Philip Reedy, Nick King, Todd Backman, Larry Salmi, Douglas Van Kirk, Bruce Wendler, Darrell Sano, Lisa May, Shanda Ochs, Robert Kermen, Connie Varvais, Dan Varvais, Mike Caffrey, Surjanto Suradji, Jeri Rangel, Adam Potts, Daniel Danzig, Tracy Zhou, Colin Birdseye, Bonnie Nordby, Cathy Tsao, Paul Kim, Peter Chun, Ming Lo, Jeff Hemming, Jennifer Cornell, Toru Takahashi, Joe Pollini, Patti Jananoski, Leor Pantilat, Steve Shinn, Roberto Ferido, Jerry Sy, Jason Paine, Gene Miller, Kathleen DiGiorgio, Crys Black, Benjamin Vu, Kirsten Liske, Laura Jean, Ravi Ranganathan, John Dinsmore, Tor Lacy, Candace Gregory, Sophie Beaney, Julie Kirby, John King, Thomas Haraikawa, Kathy Jonokuchi, Jake Puchalski, Jean Pan, Dylan Ren, Mark Harding, Melani Clark, Namita Mishra, Max Forster, Gabriel Leete, David Sharp, Ken Locke and Ron Tyler, who produced the above video.
We’re also grateful to readers who posted photos and reports to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages (you are too numerous to list).
Special thanks are expressed to Inyo County Tourism, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Mono County Tourism, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau, Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association, and The California Parks Company for underwriting California Fall Color, and to the many reporters and media who carried our reports and gave attention to what we have shown about California’s fall color.
If we missed thanking you here, please know it wasn’t intentional. We are truly indebted to every contributor.
Of course, this list is incomplete without mentioning my wife, Joan, who has driven the car and pulled it to the shoulder so that I could jump out to photograph particularly beautiful locations; humored my recording of color percentages, species and elevations; pointed out spectacular color; and tolerated my exuberance in showing her countless stunning photographs taken by our contributors.
Of course, our deepest thanks go to the many tens of thousands of people who have read, followed, reacted and commented here and on our social media pages. You are, after all, the reason we do this.
Above is our video impression of autumn in California, this year. We produce a new video each autumn. To see them all, CLICK HERE.
The photographs selected for this year’s video represent: what happened this autumn, the extent and diversity of fall color across the state, and some of the finest photographs taken in 2018.
If you would like your photographs considered for inclusion in next autumn’s video, submit “horizontal” pictures of fall color taken in places not often photographed. As, competition is stiffest among pictures taken at the most photographed destinations.
Autumn doesn’t end today. It continues for nearly a month longer. We’ll continue to post photos and reports, as received. Though today, we begin to dial back reports and will post them less frequently. We’ve also stopped sending weekly reports to meteorologists, travel and outdoor writers.
So, enjoy your Thanksgiving Day and plan an Orange Friday of fall color spotting, tomorrow.
See you next autumn, dude.
California (Peak 75-100%) GO NOW! – In our hearts, California is always peaking.
Looking Back at Autumns Past
Tomorrow, we post our annual Thanksgiving Day message and video review of 2018.
It will be our seventh annual “California Fall Color Looks Back” video. As, although CaliforniaFallColor.com went live in 2009, it wasn’t until 2012 that we began posting video reviews.
In advance of seeing “California Fall Color Looks Back at 2018,” we thought you might like to see those from years past.
Ron Tyler created each video. Ron is head of the Tyler Marketing Group, an El Dorado Hills-based marketing communications consultancy with expertise in social media, product marketing and video.
Each of the photographs selected for these videos is representative of what happened that autumn, the extent and diversity of fall color seen across the state, and some of the finest photographs taken that year.
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
Sacramento’s Last Leaves
What would autumn be in Sacramento without a Leaf Cookie from the Freeport Bakery?
Bags of them were waiting on a stop along a fall color spotting tour of Sacramento County, today. I bought several for our Thanksgiving Day table.
The cookies were the most colorful and among the last leaves to be seen in Sacramento, as the Fabulous 40s, a residential area canopied with towering London plane trees, was at the end of peak.
Although there are nice spots of color to be seen throughout Sacramento County, most of the color is now muted with chartreuse sycamore mostly faded to russet and sepia.
Smoky haze from the Camp Fire (Paradise) has thinned, though remains noticeable (as seen in these pics).
Backlit by the midday light, wetlands trees in Folsom glowed amber, scarlet and burgundy, as if switched on for a final show before strings of holiday lights replace them.
In Fair Oaks, the village’s ever-present roosters strutted and crowed, telling all who will listen that they are happy not to be turkeys.
In Village Park, a shower of feuille morte fluttered down from venerable elms as workers erected an immense plastic Christmas tree that will be switched on Dec. 1 to the oohs and ahs of villagers … the elms, thereafter to be ignored ’til springtime.
- Sacramento County – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.
Tastes of Chico
“Smoke from the Camp Fire has lifted somewhat,” allowing Robert Kermen to get out of his northern Sacramento Valley home to do some errands in Chico.
He found gingko biloba in full peak along Chico’s Esplanade.
He was moved by an American flag, seeing it as a symbol of Butte County rebounding from the Camp Fire, where many of Robert’s friends and relatives lost their homes and businesses.
While in town, he stopped to pick persimmons which he plans to turn into persimmon cookies and jello for the holidays.
Robert recommends using the Hachiya persimmon for cooking, not the Asian or Japanese (Fuyu) persimmon (Diospyros kaki). The latter can be eaten like an apple and are great on a salad topped with vinegar and oil.
Hachiya persimmons must ripen completely before they can be eaten otherwise they are astringent.
That doesn’t stop wildlife from getting to them before they’re picked, as the American robin is doing in this picture.
Persimmons are favorite fare for opossums, rodents, white-tailed deer, raccoon, fox, black bear and skunks.
The Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources reports, Ozark “Folklore tells us that if you slice a persimmon seed lengthwise, you will find the image of a spoon, knife or fork. Supposedly, the presence of a knife means we are in for a rough, unsettled winter. A mild winter is predicted by the image of spoon. If a fork is seen, our winter is supposed to be medium to bad.”
In Korea, dried persimmon (gotgam) are said to scare away tigers.
- Chico (197′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Peak on the Wing
Sometimes you don’t need fall color to find Peak.
Alena Nicholas found it Sunday at Lake Hemet in the San Jacinto Mountains, south of Idyllwild.
“Great cloud formations and active wildlife made up for “peak color,” she wrote. “As usual, there where plenty of guests fishing and camping at Lake Hemet,” and, as seen in these photos, several of them flew in for the weekend. (click to enlarge photos)
A photogenic flock of visiting white pelicans and resident pair of bald eagles have become local celebrities.
Lake Hemet’s human visitors rent 12′ motorboats, 22′ pontoon boats and kayaks at the marina or launch their own craft, to get closer to the birds. The pontoon boats are the most stable platform for capturing wildlife photography and the have the room to allow use of a tripod, which improves image sharpness.
The best way to approach is slowly and not closer than the point at which the birds notice or indicate concern about your presence. Otherwise, you’ll interrupt their natural behaviors and they will fly to another less-busy location. Too much of that and they’ll find another lake.
These wild birds perceive humans as a threat. So, a telephoto lens is needed to get closeup photographs.
Dramatic cloud formations made colorful reflections on the lake. Along the shore, spots of Past Peak color could be seen. Nicholas estimates the remaining color should last through the Thanksgiving Day weekend, providing one more location to celebrate Orange Friday (the day following Thanksgiving Day to photograph fall color).
- Idlyllwild (5,413′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT.
- Lake Hemet (4,340′) – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.
A Place of Many Identities
Sunland-Tujunga is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles by the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the Crescenta Valley.
Which is to say, Sunland-Tujunga is a place of many identities.
Though, in late autumn it is known for its beauty, as captured in this First Report by Ken Lock using a Samsung Note 9.
Peak yellow, orange and gold fall color is seen zigzagging beside Big Tujunga Creek through Pipe Canyon, Ybarra Canyon and Stone Canyon, heading toward Wildwood.
Native to the area are Frémont cottonwood, bigleaf maple, box elder, chokecherry, California ash, California sycamore, white alder, California black walnut, California buckeye and various willows.
- Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles (1,512′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!