Summer Color Fades, Fall Color Cranks Up

I have to apologize for my photography skills on this one. The cluster of flowers was just a little too close to the camera to come out clearly. Batteries were waning, and I didn't take the time to look closely at the image on the tiny lcd screen. So when I got home, "Rats!". I wasn't sure whether to post it or not. I decided to go ahead as the color of these flowers was really what I wanted to show. And I think that comes across quite well. Besides if I really want to get artsy, I could say I shot them out of focus to give the picture a Monet quality. (The smaller picture is a lame attempt at using the image software on this computer to create an impressionistic image. My 7th grade art teacher Ned Nesti would be ashamed at this creation, but might be amused that I at least retained some appreciation for French Impressionism.)
Anyway, Summer seems to have been swept away as abruptly as one season can be. Highs last week were well into the 80s. And yesterday we only made it to 53 officially in Chattanooga. Today we'll struggle once again to end up in the low 50s. The last time we had back to back highs in the 50s was March 18th and 19th, 2005. On the 18th we went to 57, on the 19th 58.
Lows should drop into the upper 30s in the city the next 3 or 4 days. That should erase the summer colors and get the Fall reds and oranges to really pop. I know there's been some concern over Autumn being rather drab here. But this past weekend I was traveling between Southern Illinois and here. And the color is great between Nashville and Illinois. In past years I've noticed that those areas peak about 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the trees around here. The only problem is, I saw quite a few leaves falling quickly up there. So we might see a shorter burst of color this year. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post some snapshots in the next few days.
By the way Batman has left the building. (See the Sept. 9th post for details on my garage dwelling forecaster.)