By Vladimir Brezina
Of the spectacular Fall colors seen every year all over New York State, New York City’s are always the last to make their appearance. The city is far south, at sea level, and much warmer than its surroundings due to the urban heat effect. And so, in the first days of October 2013, New York City is still largely green.
But if the Fall colors won’t come to us, yet, we can go to them. This past weekend I found myself at a conference at Mohonk Mountain House, a historic hotel about 60 miles north of the city, located on the Shawangunk Ridge at the southern border of the Catskill Mountains—and most importantly, at an elevation of over 1,000 feet. There, the Fall colors were already in full swing!
(click on any photo to start slideshow)
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
BEAUTIFUL!!!
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Thank you!!!
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Such a show of stunning color as the leaves prepare to say farewell and die.
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That sounds a bit too final…
I take a slightly longer view, and, with Philip Larkin, look forward to their springtime resurrection:
“The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.
Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.”
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Much better. Larkin’s words. Sorry.
Your photos are beautiful
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I was just looking ahead—there will be another year :-)
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you were so fortunate to go to Mohonk Mt House! I am pea green with envy. I’ve been wanting to go for many years BUT it is very expensive. great photos.
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It’s possible to go up there for the day, I believe, and enjoy the outdoors, without staying overnight at the hotel, which, while very very nice, is not the main point ultimately… :-)
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Hi. There’s an entrance fee just to walk the Mohonk grounds. So, it’s not possible for me.
There is, however, I think, an open, free park down the road? You’ve inspired me to give it a try.
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As far as I know, Mohonk is set within a much bigger area of woods where the rules are likely to be different—but I am not sure what they are. Give it a try—good luck!
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Thanks.
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I made it! Not quite Mohonk, but down the road a bit is Minnewaska. YAY!
http://mylifeinfocusblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/hiking-the-minnewaska-park-preserve/
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Lovely photos—so glad you made it out there to see the Fall! :-)
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Thanks.
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Phenomenal!!
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:-) Thank you!!
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Wow, gorgeous. It is springtime in this part of the world.
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Equally beautiful…
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Ah golden scarlet yellow orange autumn. My favorite season. Great leaves :-)
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Thanks!! :-)
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Such beautiful colors, love it!
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Thank you! :-)
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Lovely colors of fall! I drove by a maple tree yesterday, something unusual in San Diego, and I had the chance to stop by and take a few pictures and pick up some leaves with my kids. I almost fell I was back in the Northeast for a few minutes!
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I used to miss the seasons when I lived in Southern California…
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Reblogged this on My August Hands.
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Thanks for reblogging, Erica!
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W-O-W!!!!
Amazing.
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:-)
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Now I know again , why I love autumn, despite the cold and wet days and the fog creeping through the atmosphere! If anyone of you is passing through Switzerland, I advise to take a train route from Basel to Bern. The gold-red-green of the autumn forest of western Switzerland is just gorgeous!
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We’ll certainly do so if we get the chance! Thanks!!
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I love Mohonk Mountain House! My husband and I found ourselves there by accident (sort of) over Labor Day weekend in 2003, and got the last room available (we were supposed to be camping). Such a gorgeous place that we slept outside on the balcony on the mattress from the bed. Thanks for conjuring memories of a very special place!
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Glad to have brought them back!! :-)
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Gorgeous color! I have never been to the Catskills. I’m hoping to get there sometime in the next few years.
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I hope you can manage it. They are quite spectacular, especially at certain times of the year—such as the Fall—and at the same time quite accessible…
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A friend of mine and I celebrated our birthdays last summer at Mohonk; it is indeed beautiful. Supposedly also where Stephen King penned “The Shining”, and the true inspiration for the Overlook hotel.
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I didn’t know about that connection—for some reason, the hotel doesn’t seem to publicize it ;-) Thanks, Julie!
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Oh, that was an awesome reference, Julie! I read that comment and thought, “Hey who wrote that? Cool piece of trivia!”. Then I looked closer and it was you….:-)
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Lovely colours. In my humble opinion, the colours of Fall on the Eastern Seaboard shout the loudest. I do like the soft muted colours of Autumn in Northern Europe though. Thanks
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It’s the American way! ;-)
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Love it!
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Thanks!!
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Beautiful!
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Thanks! :-)
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Stunning!
Thank you for sharng…
take care…
)0(
maryrose
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Thanks so much, maryrose—glad you like it!! :-)
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your welcome…I did very much..
Autumn is a wonderful time to see so many shades of color….
)0(
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This makes me miss the fall color changes in Vermont; not that Denmark doesn’t have it’s own change, but it’s not quite the same. Beautiful pictures :)
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Vermont must be the best! Have never (yet) seen the Fall colors there… Thanks! :-)
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Thanks for sharing another lovely album. The colours are so fresh and bright it feels like spring, not the opposite.
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Yin and yang :-)
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Spectacular!
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Thanks, Rosa!
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beautiful pictures!!!! thanks for sharing and keep ’em coming!!! :)
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Thanks so much—will do!! :-)
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GORGEOUS!!!
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Thank you!! :-)
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:)
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love this fall colors!
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Thanks!!
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Stunning pictures. I’m so glad that color exists and that there’s people like you to capture it.
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:-) Thanks so much, Tammy!!
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I haven’t seen a changing of the leaves in the Northeast since the 1970s. I miss it.
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Yes, it’s quite a sight when it comes off right—and this year it looks like it will… :-)
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Beautiful! Gorgeous !!!! I love the light and the brilliant and pure mix of colours…It is a wonderful place!!!
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Thank you!!! :-)
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