Leafpile #6: October 21st, 2009

Taking in the last colors of the season at Fields Pond in Maine (10/21/09)

Maine - Only southern Maine is said to be in peak form at the moment. For the rest of the state, the show's over. But only if you think of autumn in terms of glorious fall colors! There are many other things begging to be photographed at this time of the year; foliage is merely one of them.
Read more

New Hampshire - "Most lawns are covered in a deep blanket of leaves, and many roadside trees are nearly bare. The leftover colors are mainly burnt yellows and faded oranges."
Read more

Vermont - Most of the state is well past peak, although there are pockets of color remaining here and there. Sounds familiar!
Read more

Raking it all in: The colors seem to leave almost as quickly as they arrive. I mentioned last week that I planned to stick around coastal Maine. I'm still doing that for the most part, and I'll visit southern Maine over the next few days.

The blueberry barrens were a total bust for me this year. Normally they are a vibrant crimson; this year they seemed more like a pale rust. I may have missed some areas, I don't know. But my usual blueberry barren "haunts" were a disappointment this season.

On top of that, many farmers have already cleared whatever bushes were there in preparation for winter, so things look...well...barren. I'll just have to try again next year.

Abandoned

Leafpile #5 - Oct. 16, 2009

The fourth round of weekly foliage reports (for northern New England) are in. The last update will be next week.

Raking it all in: At this point, northern New England is pretty much past peak in terms of foliage. Coastal areas are an exception, and the day before yesterday I still found some nice autumn colors in the mountains of western Maine. The dusting of snow really did add something extra to the autumn colors this past week.

I'm going stick around coastal Maine next week (for the most part). I haven't visited any of the blueberry barrens yet, many of which are crimson, and the barrens almost always make for interesting landscape images.

After that I have to put down the camera and pick up a rake! : (

Maine - Baxter State Park is well past prime with lots of leaf drop. Downeast Maine, central Maine and southern Maine are the places to be right now for autumn colors in the Pine Tree State, and by next week most of these areas will be past prime, too.
Read more

New Hampshire - Northern and western parts of the state are also past peak, but as with Maine, the southern and coastal areas are still very nice. And also as with Maine, "...mountain summits are dusted with snow, and look spectacular over the colorful fall foliage."
Note: By coincidence, autumnal water reflections are going to be my next photo tip.
Read more

Vermont - "Vibrant foliage can be found in the valleys and lower western slopes of the Green Mountains, particularly near Lake Champlain and in southern Vermont."
Read more

Photo Tip #2: Reflections

The tip is pretty simple: Have fun with reflections.

That's about it! But if I had to add anything, I suppose I would mention that it's good to play around with manual focus. Slight changes in focus on the surface of water will yield many different variations of images.

Dodging Snowflakes, Bullets And Pegamoose

It's dark and rainy here today. The weather forecast calls for our first snowfall of the season. Bad weather doesn't deter a photographer; in fact it has been said many times before that the lousier the weather, the better the pictures. I tend to agree. And snowfall with autumn colors? That sounds beautiful to me. I should be so lucky!

I'm ready to head back out to moose country (western Maine/northern New Hampshire) for the next couple of days. As I mentioned in the previous post, moose hunting season is underway here in Maine. Not everywhere at once, however. The hunting opens in one section or "zone" of the state while closing in another. So the season is staggered across the state over a period of a few weeks. Moose hunters who won their permits through the state moose hunting lottery can only hunt for moose within their designated zone which in turn has a designated window of opportunity.

Many of the places I wish to drive to (and hike) for fall colors are currently in the "line of fire", so to speak. I'm packing a reversible down vest for this trip. The outside of the vest is navy blue and the inside is blaze orange. I'll reverse the vest depending on where I am and what I am doing. I top off my ensemble with an orange ball cap.

I always hold out hope that the majority of hunters out there are alert and cautious before they open fire on their chosen target. But it must also be noted that this can be a naïve (and therefore dangerous) outlook. I can't assume anything.

I once saw a farmer use blaze orange paint to write the letters C-O-W on the sides of his grazing livestock to prevent them from being shot during hunting season. And I've heard many stories over the years - scary stories - which do not instill a sense of confidence as I head out into the fields and forests with my tripod during hunting season.

Although I choose to "hunt" with my camera, I'm not writing about these things to belittle or criticize hunters. It's about taking precautions when heading out into the field. Odds are I'll have a better chance of seeing ol' Pegamoose (illustration above based on eyewitness accounts) than a real moose anyway. The amorous bull moose are in rut, chasing after their cows, and as such they are often far away from many roads and trails. Love and bullets are in the air!

When hunting season rolls around, the moose seem to...um, vamoose. Ugh. Sorry about that! But it's true, and I'm not the only person who comments on the scarcity of moose sightings during this particular time of the year. No doubt it is as frustrating for the hunters as it is for me.

I'm getting sidetracked here with all of this moose madness. The fleeting colors of autumn are my primary focus. These storms wreak havoc on the foliage, and a season that is too short to begin with is clipped shorter with each passing day. I have to chase whatever colors remain before they vanish for another year.

Moosehead Lake Country

D'Oh! Peaks-Kenny State Park was
closed today, and I can't pick locks.

The plan for today was pretty simple: drive up to Greenville (Moosehead Lake) and then Rockwood (Mt. Kineo) before heading over to Jackman and returning to Bangor/Brewer via Rt. 201. It's one of my favorite autumn loop drives in Maine.

Well, I got a little sidetracked. Before arriving in Greenville I approached a road sign which read "Borestone Mountain - 8 miles". I have admired Borestone Mountain many times over the years while driving through this neck of the woods, but it occurred to me that I had never hiked anywhere in the area. Since impromptu detours are a way of life for me, I made the right-hand turn and headed for Borestone almost without thinking about it.

The Audubon Society maintains a nature center on Borestone Mountain along with a trail system which leads all the way to the summit. It's an easy hike. I walked through wonderful autumn colors and a hailstorm on the way up. There were fleeting rainbows and passing clouds on the way back down. It was wonderful.

The only thing missing? Wildlife! I didn't see many birds. I did see a skunk, but the poor thing had been flattened out on the highway, so that doesn't count. The bull moose are in rut, so I imagine the moose are generally preoccupied. But since moose hunting season opens tomorrow for that section of the state, I like to think that the moose are just keeping a low profile.

The foliage is more or less hanging in there despite all of the windy weather conditions of late. I would say the colors are most definitely at their peak in this part of the state but it is also true that many areas are already well past peak.

Speaking of peak....one of my favorite state parks in all of Maine, Peaks-Kenny, was closed today and I have no idea why. Lily Bay State Park, on the other hand, was open. Strange. Just a heads up if you've made any plans to visit Peaks-Kenny this week; I would call first.

Borestone Mountain (Audubon Society of Maine)

Missing Map Syndrome

"One of these days, Mike...you're gonna have to get orga-na-zized."

I don't tend to refer to myself in the third person, nor do I often throw out quotes from Taxi Driver, but I had to think of ol' Travis Bickle the other day while rummaging through my Toyota, searching for my lost copy of the Maine Gazetteer.

While out on a day trip recently, I couldn't find any of my maps and I wasn't sure which road to take. Yes, I have a nice Garmin handheld GPS unit and yes, I know how to use it. But one of the charming things about maps is that they do not rely upon batteries in order to work. Without juice, the Garmin is a pricey paperweight.

Now, I'm not a neatnik by any stretch, and one look at my desk confirms this. The inside of my 4Runner is even worse; it's a pile of camping gear tangled with paddling gear mixed with photographic equipment for seasoning. I really needed a way to organize my maps for easier reference while out on the road. It's the one thing I wanted to be tidy about.













My old map organizing "system"

A friend of mine pulled out her Maine Gazetteer the other day (after I couldn't find mine....again) and I noticed that her atlas was nicely encased in a smart-looking map organizer. It took me all of ten seconds to want one.

They're made by Igas Island in Waldoboro, and no, I'm not a shill for this small company. In fact, I don't even know the owner(s). But I really like useful, well-made products and I feel compelled to mention this for the benefit of my fellow road warriors who likely suffer from Missing Map Syndrome. These $27 organizers hold several large Gazetteers along with several smaller maps which can be tucked into three interior pockets.

Gotta love this line from the product description in their brochure: No need to ask directions...makes a great gift for some guys.














One side of the organizer is a thick, "optically clear 20 gauge vinyl" so you can always see the contents, spill coffee on top of everything, etc. and the other side is "1000 denier Cordura nylon", according to the Igas leaflet. I won't even pretend to know what that means. But "1000 denier" sounds pretty impressive, and indeed everything about the organizer has a feeling of quality about it - right down to the zipper.

So...alright. Maybe this is kind of a random thing to blog about. But you know what? It's nice to buy a handcrafted product from a Maine-based business. It just feels good. Also, the business runs exclusively on solar power.

Igas Island makes other travel related bags, accessories and luggage too. You can tell the folks in Waldoboro that I sent you, but I doubt it will mean anything to them. "Mike sent you? That's wonderful! Who the hell is Mike?"

IGAS ISLAND
www.igasisland.com
Box 240
Waldoboro, ME
04572

Leafpile #4 - Oct. 8th, 2009

The fourth round of weekly foliage reports (for northern New England) are in. Expect more updates within five days.

Leaves are dropping and gusty winds aren't helping matters, but it's all good. I'm heading out to western Maine, NH and VT all this week, followed by some day trips to Baxter State Park.

Maine - colors in the northernmost counties (zones 6 & 7 on the Maine Foliage color map) are now said to be past peak. This doesn't mean that there are no longer any leaves on the trees; far from it. But it's going to be all downhill from here. In other zones, colors are at their peak (or near peak). Nice!
Read more

New Hampshire - For the northern half of NH: "...some wind has hit the area, which has created colorful carpets of leaves on the ground, but most trees are holding on firmly to the vivid autumn foliage. All lakes are reported to look stunning as the colors reflect onto the water’s surface."
Note: By coincidence, autumnal water reflections are going to be my next photo tip.
Read more

Vermont - "Route 100 in the Mad River Valley between Warren and Moretown is showing incredibly bright shades of red and orange this week, and state Forester Russ Barrett says foliage in this area is the best he has seen in years.”
Read more

Raking it all in: Route 100, which more or less traverses the "spine" of Vermont, is my pick of the week. It's a great road trip at any time of the year, but in autumn? Incredible! Especially if you allow yourself to meander along side roads along the way. Hook back up to Rt. 100, cruise a bit, find other back roads, rinse and repeat. That's the plan.

It Begins...

Due to prior commitments, I have not been able to get out with the camera as often as I might have liked this past week. On the other hand it's dark and rainy outside, so everything worked out for the best.

This week however, all of that will change! I'm going to be logging some rather serious miles around northern New England and I'm also taking my canoe and/or kayak along for the ride.

So many photo ops right now - both on and off the water - and so little time before the leaves drop. The colors are bursting in northern and western Maine. Journal notes and photos from the road are forthcoming.