What A Difference A Day Makes!...

The colors were still quite vivid... on those trees which managed to hold onto their leaves. But, for the most part, the damage had been done.

There were lots of gaping holes in the color palette -- showing the bright blue skies through the branches:

Another comparison... Saturday photo vs Sunday morning photo:

Fortunately, I happened upon a few colorful spots along the Natchez Trace which yielded some more great photographs...

I decided to go back to that spot where I saw the "professional" photographers taking pictures of their dogs the day before. They had quite an eye for backgrounds... this definitely seemed like the best place to photograph a dog amidst the colorful trees.

For some reason, there were also a TON of deer on the Natchez Trace this time. The funniest part was the number of bucks I saw in my photos AFTER the fact -- without even knowing that there was a deer in my shot... they blended into the foliage so well.

The best thing about being out on the Natchez Trace Parkway on this particular morning???

It literally SMELLED like autumn!

You know... that smell of damp, freshly fallen leaves on wet roads from the light showers the night before, and heaping piles of wet leaves which lined the entire roadway. There's nothing like it.

For me, it's similar to the smell of freshly lit charcoal on the grill, and recently mowed grass... distinct smells that trigger the senses and cause you to flashback on nothing but good memories, year after year.

Let this be a lesson to us all... don't forget to stop and smell Autumn!