Fall line: The winning images of Stowe Reporter’s 9th annual Fall Foliage Photo contest

Foliage season sits smack on the border between late summer and early winter.

The line can be a fine one, as it was this fall. Summer ran long, to the point where we wondered if the glorious colors of fall would really show up.

But show up they did, suddenly and startlingly — until one night it rained, the wind blew, and when the skies cleared it was 16 degrees and the fall colors were sitting on the ground.

Fortunately for posterity, local photographers did a great job capturing this fall’s magnificent foliage before the big blow arrived. For the ninth straight year, we’re happy to present the best of the best.