I have no doubt that the leaf peepers have been somewhat disappointed this year: summer’s drought has been followed by high winds and rain, at all the wrong times.  Many trees have been stripped quickly, ruthlessly.  And yet…  Some years the woods are a blaze of colour, all red and orange.  This year is a golden year, with even the red maples leaning towards yellow.  Beaten gold, with shades of copper, brass, and bronze .  The lane was so bright it almost hurt to look at it.  The witchhazel and spicebushes were a shining gold understory, as fog might creep in the woods.  Arching above them, the beeches were a pure, sharp yellow; the maples shifted from bronze to copper to gold; the hickories were a glint of brass.  And, of course, the trunks…silver and iron.  And all backlit by the blazing blue sky.