Kent Pond all dressed up in fall colors. (Click to enlarge for a full panorama.)

Kent Pond all dressed up in fall colors. (Click to enlarge for a full panorama.)

It is easy to get jaundiced about how pretty the Green Mountains around Killington look right now. For those of us who have the privilege of living here, the annual ballet of Mother Nature as summer transitions into fall always presents a broad pallet of colors painted across the mountains. It is so easy to ignore because the colors are so omnipresent. Your visual cortex goes into overload taking them all in.

But today seemed a little different.

For the last several days the mountains of Killington have been shrouded in low clouds accompanied with light drizzle (and some periods of outright r@!n). The mountains had this air of mystery, as the lower elevations were ablaze with color, but the peaks were hidden from view. Today that changed.

The drizzle and fog has given way to a high overcast with muted sunshine. The cloud deck is high in the atmosphere, well above the mountain peaks. We can actually confirm that we do live in the mountains again, versus just believing that there was something up their above the clouds.

And the fall colors have once again burst upon the scene. Colors muted by yesterdays fog are now resplendent in filtered sunshine. The mountain peaks are showing off their evergreens, intermixed with the changing colors of the random hardwood trees in the upper forest. The sense of foreboding cast upon the region by yesterdays low overcast has given way to a happier tableau of reds, oranges, green, and gold.

The seasons are changing at Killington. For the first time in nearly a year snow is forecasted for the tops of the mountains over the weekend. We will have a few more foreboding days as fall foliage season transitions inevitably into twig season before turning to winter. But the promise of bright white winter snow in the mountains, and the dreams of the coming adrenaline rush of strapping on skis and "pointing em downhill" will keep us centered on enjoying life during this season of change in the Green Mountains.

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, pack some hot hands, and start thinking about snow!(Alright...maybe I am a bit premature on that one.. but cut me a little slack as I do live in Killington!)