When you tell people you moved to central Pennsylvania from Miami, you get a lot of weird looks. Even the people who understand that we wanted to return “home” shake their heads a little.

This time of year, we’re especially happy we’re here: The leaves are changing! It’s one of the things we missed most in Miami, where everything is green all the time. Every fall weekend, we suffered cognitive dissonance as we watched football games, the stands full of bundled-up fans, while we were wearing tank tops and spending halftime on the beach.

As luck would have it, Penn State’s experts believe that this year is going to be a spectacular one for fall foliage. Marc Abrams, a professor of forest ecology and physiology in the College of Ag Sciences, says we’ve got the cool nights and sunny days of the past month to thank.

The Centre Daily Times ran a fall foliage story Sunday, and Abrams said that this week could be the high point. So this should be a great time to run on the trails — and to snap some photographs. Our friends from Miami want to see what fall in central Pennsylvania looks like.

Lori Shontz, senior editor