Don Lehman reports in the Post Star that fall foliage should be much more colorful this fall, as a stress-inducing drought plagued many area trees the past two years is gone. Some maple trees, Lehman reports, are turning color early this year for reasons that are not clear. “I think there will be better colors,” Pete Olesheski, senior naturalist at Up Yonda Farm in Bolton said. “When it was so dry, some of the leaves just turned brown.” Donald Leopold, a biology professor at SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, said he saw strange signals from trees in the area. “This fall color season is a bit abnormal in upstate New York based on what I’m seeing as I travel about,” Leopold said. “Some species like the oaks and hickories and birches aren’t showing any signs of early coloration but individuals of the sugar and red maples, two of the most dominant contributors to the outstanding fall colors in New York, are weeks ahead of their average coloration.” New York State reports that the Adirondacks have about 15 to 25 percent color change now, and color is beginning to show in parts of the Catskills. Read the full story in the Post Star.