Usually a very dry summer is a precursor to a very dull fall.  This summer was one of the driest in many years so I was expecting more of a fizzle than a blast from the usual color show that the trees put on each Fall here in the Northeast.  That has been far from the case.  Instead, it has been one of the most vibrant displays of color than we’ve had in several years.  The majestic oak in our front yard went from deep green to tinges of orange to the beautiful color of caramel.  The ginkgo trees that abound in our village put on an amazing show of thousands of little bright yellow fan shaped leaves. The maples and birches played their part too with reds and oranges and yellows.  The added bonus was an uncharacteristic string of blue skied days to contrast with all those colors.  It has been a spectacular Fall.  But the leaves are almost all down now and there’s this thing called Sandy approaching that is sure to wipe the remaining color from both the trees and the sky.    I took a few minutes last week to capture just a bit of that color with my camera and then see what mandalas might result.