David Distelhorst/THE POST
Students walk to and from classes on Jefferson Hill. Leaves, like the ones on this tree outside Putnam Hall are hitting their peak colors this week. Yellow, orange, red and some stubborn trees of green cover OU's grounds and the surrounding hills of Southeastern Ohio.

David Distelhorst/THE POST Junior Katie Miller walks down Union Street on her way to class. Foliage on trees all over Athens County are changing colors and falling to the ground as winter approaches.

Yellow, red, orange and green seem to scream out from bright blue skies. Everything about the fall season is crisp - the air, the leaves, and most of all, the colors.

Jagged edges poke through smooth skies as the leaves sway and dance in the crisp air. Atop proud trunks, orange, blazing like fire, demands attention from its red and yellow neighbors. Yellow, beaming like the sun, falls to the ground to join with piles of brown and green. Everything about the sky is exhilarating - the colors are so intense that it is hard to look away.

This is Southeast Ohio in the fall.

"Fall color is more brilliant than I remember in the last ten years," said Bill Schultz, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources forester.

These brilliant colors will be reaching their peak very shortly, he said. "This weekend is a very good weekend for fall color."

Although people might have wondered if the summer drought would take away from the colorful fall foliage, a quick glance outside proves the opposite.

"The first color began about the third week of September and continues until the end of October or a little longer," Schultz said. "A few trees were affected by this year's drought, but for the most part fall color is right on schedule."

Depending upon the region, excess moisture or dryness helps or hinders the amount of color produced in the leaves, said Randy Heiligmann, Ohio State University Extension forestry specialist.

"We had great fall weather in terms of temperature," he said. "Fall color is at its best where trees get moisture, and with sunny days and cool nights. When the weather is dry, the colors are more washed out."

Leaves' summertime color is a blend of a yellow pigment called carotene and a green pigment called chlorophyll. During the sunny days of summer, the chlorophyll dissolves. But it is replaced all the time, so the leaves look green, Heiligmann said.

In fall, when there is less sun, the green chlorophyll breaks down, and the leaves do not make any more green pigment, he said. New colors show up in the leaves, like the yellows or reds that were hidden by the green.

Not only can students admire the leaves on campus, but they also can make the drive to numerous state parks for extended viewing.