Stone Mountain, late September

 A year ago, fresh off the truck from Texas, all we noticed about the Georgia Piedmont was how green it was in October. This year, we’re already seeing the early color, small patches of yellow and red, mostly in the maples.

In late September, we’re seeing some leaves fall. Not a lot, but enough to keep you off your game. When you see movement in the woods, you expect to see a bird or squirrel. Now, it’s often a single leaf, falling early.

Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, is blooming in the woods south of Stone Mountain. A few lovely white blooms appeared in August, but there are more now. Frostweed is in the aster family.

Another member of the aster family, blue mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum, has put out its purple blossoms.

The goldenrods, genus Solidago, are everywhere. I only thought we had a lot in Texas.

People here like dogwoods, in genus Cornus. You see them in yards as well as in the woods. The leaves are turning, and the drupes look like cranberries: they’re the reddest red.