Too soon?

It's hard to see leaves turning color in early August. Summer isn't over! Fortunately, though, this is pretty normal. Here and there in the vineyard, the leaves on certain vines will start to turn very early, even though the vast majority are still a very lush green. And so are the trees. So fall is not here yet.

Grape leaves turning color in the vineyards behind our house.

I don't know what causes this to happen, but I see it every year. And some vines die altogether during the growing season. Most of those will be marked and yanked out after the harvest then replaced with a new vine. In some cases, a long cane from the neighboring vine will be buried in the ground with a few buds poking up above ground. The cane stays attached to its parent and gets its nourishment that way. Roots will grow below ground and a new vine is the result. I read that that kind of propagation is called "layering" in English, marcottage in French.