I love how the trees change colors in autumn in Seattle.
The autumn trees
The trees start changing around late August and early September turning soft yellow advancing to brown or to a rich orange or red color, peaking sometime in October. It’s really hard not to see fall colors in Seattle or all over Washington.
Aspens, Katsura trees, and variety of maple trees can be seen as you drive on I-5 North or South, I-90 East or West or 405 North or South 520 East or West, US 2 or on residential streets. On the sides of the road, you can see the pretty leaves, growing on think and thick branches. Some branches even stretch out to the road, like weeping branches. Yellow, orange, or red leaves all glowing under the sun with such brilliance. Even when cloudy, the colors look happy.
The leaves on that tree made me stop and wonder
If you want to spend more time around autumn trees, you can also walk to any number or Seattle parks to see the change of autumn.
Pictures of autumn trees
Some of these pictures were captured on a drive to Jones Park at Renton to see the salmon spawning, which happens during autumn, too. At Jones Park, from the cemented walkway, you can see the salmon. It’s colors change too when they return to the freshwater. The ones in Renton I have seen turned red. The red ones were swimming against the current or holding still against the current. They have come back from the ocean to their birthplace to mate. In one of my salmon spawning tour, I learned that the Pacific salmon only mate when they return to the freshwaters, right before they die. Dramatic, romantic, and traumatic is what I want to say. Their journey to the ocean from freshwater and back is a wonderful triumphant story on the few we do get back now.
If you do go visit the salmon spawning sites, try to not to scare them, as they are very vulnerable during their spawning cycle. They stop eating once they get back into the fresh water from saltwater.
I would like to post some pictures of the trees changing colors that I have taken from all over Washington.
My friend took this shot
Autumn in Seattle (and all over Washington)
Standing under the autumn tree
If you want to spend more time around autumn trees, you can also walk to any number or Seattle parks to see the change of autumn or go to one of the city gardens.