Entry #13: Fall Leaf Peeping

anitazachary
Nov 12, 2025
2 min read

The air is finally chilly, and the leaves here in North Carolina are turning colors!

Two large trees with dark bark have turned vibrant shades of orange and yellow, with a bright blue sky behind them.

This time of year is always my, and my family's, favorite. Not just for the cheesecake and green bean casserole either! We are very lucky to live around some beautiful trees, big, old ones that tower over; they give such wonderful (needed!) shade during the summer, but during the Fall? Well, that's the real showtime.

Two pumpkin orange trees with very dark bark stand amidst fallen leaves on a cloudy, overcast day. There is a large black square covering someone's home for their privacy. — Downtown Trees (house blocked out for privacy)

Around this time of year, my daughter and I ride around just to look at the leaves; from our neighborhood to downtown, we 'oooh' and 'ahhh', pointing and getting pictures while I try to keep the car on the road! Some weekends, my sweet husband takes us out, so I can sit and enjoy the beauty of the trees too. We call this 'leaf peeping'.

A photo of the side of the road, looking out to a little dark creek. The creek is flanked by trees in shades of red, orange, yellow and green. There is a car barrier and electrical lines hang down.

Whether its running to the post office to drop off orders from The Pumpkin Emporium, looking at everyone's Halloween and Christmas decorations, or just peepin' for the sake of it, we never come away disappointed. Even the bane of our garden here, Virginia Creeper, turns a beautifully shocking shade of red around telephone poles and fences.

A photo of a drive way, where the sun's rays pour in from the left side; it is slightly foggy, but the focus is on the trees - in shades of orange, bright red, green, and yellow.

It always amazes me how, in Fall, trees that you normally never would've noticed are the most vibrant colors. There are several around here that are so vivid that they glow from the inside out, yet, all other times, they masquerade as normal, blending in with the little forests around them.

There's a species of tree - now I don't know the scientific name for it - but we call them Candy Corn trees, because they usually have three different colors on them at once; green, yellow, and orange, all with such vibrance that it takes your breath away. Our neighborhood has several of them (though I didn't take pictures in time this year to catch them in full glory before storms made them drop their leaves) and we always take the long way home just to appreciate them.

Three trees with dark bark and pumpkin orange leaves stand in a yard blanketed by dull orange-brown leaves. There is a black box giving a home privacy in the left corner.

In Fall, every outing is a new adventure, driving past beloved trees or trying a new way and discovering others! I count myself so lucky, even though our trees take longer to change, that they are so, so powerfully colorful when they do.

Two large trees lean to the right, one a vibrant orange and the other a vibrant yellow, both almost glowing against the bright blue sky.

A quick addition - we took a long break from the P.E. Journal, and we do apologize for that. Our family lost a truly beloved, core member, so we needed to step away to deal with the hardest waves of grief. While the grief will always linger, and we will always miss her, we know she's still around, still as loving and sweet as always. Hug your loved ones tight, even if they wiggle and laugh, and don't forget to cherish them.

All that to say, we're back to writing entries, which will hopefully be coming out regularly - with small breaks for the holidays, of course - on fun things! Stay tuned for our family cheesecake recipe, no bake cookie recipe, holiday decorations, sneak peeks, and more!

A large tree with the sun peeking between the red and green leaves. There are trees in the background as well, mostly green, yellow, and brown.