Foliage season moving along at full speed | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME

Foliage season moving along at full speed The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME

Color of purple in Maine … and yellow and red and ...

Changing of the foilage in Maine. Photo by Kelly McInnis

Changing colors of the foilage at Echo Lake in Aroostook State Park
near Presque Isle, Maine.
Photo by Kelly McInnis

Here are a couple of photos shot by Kelly McInnis, who is a high school classmate of mine and an amateur photographer. I’m not sure where the top shot was taken, but the bottom one was shot at Echo Lake, which is in Aroostook State Park near Presque Isle, Maine. Click on either photo to get a slightly larger view.

Here’s a map and links for those interested in a last-minute trip to Maine for the peak of colors.

For foliage information, visit http://www.mainefoliage.com/. For more about scenic byways and destinations mentioned here, visit www.byways.org/explore/states/ME/. For information on Maine State Parks and Public Lands, visit http://www.parksandlands.com./

Foliage Report for Sept. 22 | Maine.gov

Foliage Report for Sept. 22 | Maine.gov

Maine fall foliage map for Sept. 22.

Foliage Report for Sept. 22 | Maine.gov

Offering viewers a sneak peek of autumn: Dry summer gives some trees early start on foliage season | Portland Press Herald

Here’s a photo I posted a few days ago showing the early change in color of foliage. This photo was taken not long ago near Jo-Mary Lake Campground in the shadow of Mount Katahdin. Photo by Kelly McInnis

The fall foliage season has started, at least for some trees.

Some species are turning yellow and shedding their foliage earlier than normal because of the dry summer. But forestry experts do not expect conditions to affect the prime leaf-peeping season.

“We have noticed it especially with paper and yellow birch,” said Bill Ostrofsky, a tree pathologist with the Maine Forest Service.

Touches of red and gold always appear on some trees in the Maine landscape in late August. But the dry conditions have led to more color this year. Until this week, no significant rain had fallen over much of the state since June.

The lack of water caused leaves to droop, then drop, on bushes and trees where the soil was especially dry.

Click for the rest of the story by Beth Quimby in the Portland Press Herald.