Falling later this year, the peak leaf season in the mountains appears now to be just around the corner. The late color change is good for the tourist business, agreed Julie Spiro, executive director of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, and Sue Bumgarner, executive director of the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce. "We are generally booked a year in advance for the last two weeks in October," Bumgarner said. "But now, with the color season extended, we are booking well into November, which should extend our tourist season up through Thanksgiving." Recent warm weather has delayed the color transformation throughout the mountains, said Dan Pittillo, biology professor at Western Carolina University who said colors should be "brilliant but spotty" because of the amount of rainfall during the growing season. - Herald photo by Rose Hooper
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