Hmmm, quite tenuously dragged into the challenge, I wont say it DNMC, but its bordering on that.. still, as an autumnal shot its really nice but overall has the feel of a nice snap shot. 5
Good use of title to connect this to the challenge - a bit of a stretch - but still okay in my book. The issue I have is the significantly blown out section in the foreground. The colors in the trees are really warm and appealing, however.
It's always challenging to take a great image in full sunlight. If you're a photoshop person you may wish to take a look at this image using Shadows/Highlights - it may reduce some of the glare.