Texas Hill Country Colors in 2011

The year 2011 was a year of severe drought in the State of Texas, one of the worst ever recorded. With shrinking lakes, dying trees and abundant wildfires, the Texas Hill Country suffered from high temperatures for most of the summer along with frequent hot winds added to the dryness of the area. A high level system hung over the State for months and refused to allow moisture in the area.

Since the end of summer and into early Fall, we received several inches of rain. Though the lakes still remained low, the parched land had been soaking up the moisture with each storm. Because of the earlier damage, most trees exhibited no color during this Fall. Unlike the past few years, only dull yellows and browns were seen.

Late in Fall, we had rain, at least two inches in most of the area. It was a slow soaking rain, with frequent showers. Much to our surprise, these showers produced some brilliant color in our local trees. The Texas Hill Country came to life. One week before Christmas, we are enjoyed the bright colors of Fall.

Late in Fall, I first noticed a tree in the neighborhood with brilliant colors. Even though the tree had lost most of its leaves, the remaining foilage was exhuberant in bright color. It took my breath away. While driving down a local parkway, I noted many other colorful trees standing brilliantly in the sunlight. Our landscape had changed overnight.

Driving through the area, I searched for the colors of Fall and found that much of our local area was on fire with red, gold and orange leaves. It was exhilarating to see the vast amount of hues still in the trees. Yet, it was also quite evident that most of these trees would soon lose their leaves because December was almost over.

With rain in the are, the cool temperatures and moisture allowed a few more days of color. Though this Fall season was short on color, it went out with a flair. This spurt of color was very much appreciated!