Leafpile #9: October 5th, 2011

(Sorry, no photos to share with this post. I've been busy with too many other things these past five days.)

The big news is that we now have peak colors in the northernmost sections of Maine and New Hampshire and Vermont this week! Now is the time to be there.

The White Mountains of NH are said to be "mixed but getting there soon". Last week I mentioned that I would be visiting northern Maine but I decided to hold off on that series of road trips until this week. I've rented a camera to augment my existing camera bag and will report more after the weekend.

The bad weather we've had lately in Maine - it was very windy today - doesn't seem to have affected the leaf drop in any significant way, which is good.

10/5/11 - to the memory of Steve Jobs.

Leafpile #8: September 28th, 2011

I can't tell if things are a tad slow this year in terms of fall colors or if this is normal. Seems slow this year.

In any case, there is "moderate" color change in the northernmost counties of Maine (Aroostook, Piscataquis). That means up to 50% change with low leaf drop. And with this latest round of cooler weather, things are going to change rapidly!

Read more about Maine's foliage here.

I'm heading for my first fall foliage road trips of the season this weekend in New Hampshire and here in Maine. More on that later!

New Hampshire:
Reports indicate "dazzling colors" in the northernmost section of the state, with some changes at the higher elevations in the White Mountain region. Give this area another week, they say, and it will be amazing. Read more...

Vermont:
Pretty much the same story as NH. The Northeast Kingdom (the northernmost region in Vermont along the Canadian border) is reporting color change in higher elevations with more changes expected next week. Read more...

Leafpile #7: September 23rd, 2010

Today is the first official day of autumn and as you can see from a recent kayaking trip, the fall colors haven't completely arrived in my part of the state just yet. But it won't be long.

Here's the second round of weekly foliage reports (for northern New England):

Maine - Moderate color change in the northernmost areas of the state (50%) or less). Cooler temperatures and shorter days mean that we'll see changes soon, however.
Read more

New Hampshire - White Mountains are beginning to show color. Some small pockets in the north showing a 25% or less color change, "...but with a frost forecast for this weekend, that could change as early as next week."
Read more

Vermont - 25% towards peak color for much of Vermont, but changes with cooler weather have been noticeable in the past five days alone.
Read more

Raking it all in: I'm heading up to northern Maine this weekend to look for moose and whatever early color there is and I'm going to check out the White Mountains area of NH just after the weekend.

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.

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

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.

Leafpile #3 - Sept. 30th, 2009

The third round of weekly foliage reports (for northern New England) are in and I can't believe it's the last day of September already! Expect more updates within five days.

Before we get to that, however - here's an update from photographer/leaf peeper B. Lombardi of Rhode Island:

I just got off the phone with my sister. She just returned from a 3 day trip up through Errol NH and over to Rangely Me. She said that whole area is ablaze with color. This is the same area we were in about 3 weeks ago. According to her, Lake Umbagog is brilliant, The Balsams, Dixville Notch are also showing a lot of color. She said it's near peak so most likely this weekend. If anyone is wondering where this is it's up on RT. 16 in NE New Hampshire and NW Maine, not far from the Canadian Border. You can consider this report to be very reliable. She's an accomplished photographer and fall foliage is one of her main subjects. She also said that mid VT. is progressing slowly so it sounds like Columbus Day Weekend might be around the high point for color in the middle section of VT.

Maine - colors in the northernmost counties (zones 6 & 7 on the Maine Foliage color map) are at peak or are near peak. This weekend (through next week) will be the time to take a drive up in northern Maine, NH and VT. Storms and strong winds can wreak havoc on the foliage so you might want to enjoy it over the next 10 days or so while it lasts.
Read more

New Hampshire - For the northern half of NH: "...the colors are changing at all elevations now, and it will just be a matter of days before this area reaches peak fall foliage." About 75% there. (see postscript below).
Read more

Vermont - "Foliage is reaching peak color this week in sections of the Northeast Kingdom and Lamoille County...good color will be found on pretty much any road from Stowe to Quebec.”
Read more

Raking it all in: This is a good time to head north.

PS - Jeff "Foliage" Folger of Yankee Magazine was interviewed on the Weather Channel last night. He's heading up to northern Maine too; perhaps I'll see him up there. Jeff spent some time in northern NH (in the Sugar Hill area - one of my personal favorites) and he mentioned that the colors were getting close to peak in NH but were "not quite there".

Jeff also mentioned that some of the colors seemed "a little on the dull side" to him. Having said that, I thought the colors in the shots Jeff posted looked very nice, and the Weather Channel reporter conducting the interview commented on this as well. "I dunno Jeff....that looks pretty good to me!"

Here's the deal: good photographers like Jeff have to view things with a critical eye. I'm the same way. And as I watched the brief interview I think I understood what Jeff meant to say. That some of the colors might not be as vibrant as a some people might prefer, but that doesn't mean that the colors aren't there. It's all relative.

But the way I see it, there's no need to worry about "dull colors". Don't let that scare you away from a day or weekend trip if you have the time. Get out there and enjoy the season while it lasts, because the colors I'm seeing where I live are gorgeous!

Starting today, the next three weeks should be "all she wrote" for northern New England. And a good nor'easter could shorten that time span considerably.

Leafpile #2 - Sept. 23rd, 2009

The second round of weekly foliage reports (for northern New England) are in and things are beginning to happen. Expect more updates within five days.

Maine - colors in the northernmost counties (zones 6 & 7 on the Maine Foliage color map) have shifted from "low" to "high" within five days. It almost always happens quickly!
Read more

New Hampshire - Colors are changing in the northernmost counties of the state but are not at their peak just yet. Frosts contributed to some fairly rapid changes, however. Color is estimated to be at about 30% over a larger area, up from the "small pockets of color" of last week.
Read more

Vermont - See my other post about being in a holding pattern, but: "...foliage is moving into mid-stage color in the higher elevations with varying shades of orange, russet, yellow and red. Red maples located in moist low-lying areas are close to peak color, and ash trees are beginning to turn purple-yellow."
Read more

Raking it all in: I'm planning to head up to Aroostook County in a few days to do the St. John River Valley loop drive, something I've always wanted to do. I'll drive north on Route 1 (out of Houlton) to Caribou, Van Buren, Madawaska and Fort Kent before pointing my Toyota south on Rt. 11 to head back to Brewer. And I'll stop at Baxter State Park on the way back, naturally! The colors in Baxter aren't at their prime yet but I can't pass Millinocket and not turn west for a detour. Moose watching is something I like to do whether the leaves have turned or not.

PS - Speaking of moose, The Cozy Moose has posted some fall color tips for the Moosehead Lake region, which is nice at any time of the year. Also, some of these Aroostook-based webcams give you at least a small preview of what's happening up there.

Leafpile #1 - Sept. 17, 2009

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

Maine - 20% or less color change in the northernmost counties (zones 6 & 7 on the Maine Foliage color map). Other areas are showing 10% or less color change. Cooler temperatures and shorter days mean that we'll see changes soon, however.
Read more

New Hampshire - Still pretty green overall, even in the higher elevations, with some small pockets in the north showing a 25% or less color change, "...but with a frost forecast for this weekend, that could change as early as next week."
Read more

Vermont - Pretty much the same story as NH, with some areas of change evident in the northernmost parts of the state, also in pockets along streams and ridges in the higher elevations. However, it is described as "early color".
Read more

Raking it all in: With little to no color change (except for a few nooks and crannies), my day trips won't be centered around fall color photography just yet. But I really like what I'm hearing. It's heartening to note that several forest rangers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont all seem to agree that we could be in for a really nice show this year. Woo-hoo!