Fall Foliage Preview: A Good Year For New England, Send Us Your PHOTOS

As Labor Day fades quickly into our already softening memories of summer, only the most pedantic insist on pointing out that summer isn't, in fact, over quite yet.

But with the start of autumn on September 22, it's high time to plot your course for fall foliage viewing -- if you haven't already made plans.

In New England, the unofficial world capital of fall color, conditions are ripe for an early (and possibly epic) display, writes Yankee magazine meteorologist Jim Salge:

I would say that chances are good for an autumn season that comes a bit early, especially in the western portions of the region. I would also say that the trees in New England have been through some rather unprecedented events in the past year, and it is therefore difficult to predict the strength of the overall colors -- but conditions could be favorable for the development of red pigments this autumn.

For a bit of fall travel inspiration, we've collected some colorful, compelling foliage photos from years past. May they remind you that, as always, the seasons march inexorably on, whether we're ready for change or not.