This is the time of year when Nicole Hughes gets constantly distracted by the fall foliage as she drives around North Carolina. "I'm always looking," says Hughes, a biologist at High Point University.

Once again, the summer season comes to an end, and crisp autumn days are upon us. Temperatures drop, the days get shorter and vibrant colors quickly spread across the mountains and valleys as trees ...

I'm a city kid, who can often be unmoved by nature. But I am dazzled by autumn as it unfolds. I'm enthralled by how all the reds, tans, yellows and golds that paint the leaves that still stick to the ...