Fall Color in New England

rternbach

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First, let me thank everyone who shared info in the recent thread about bookstores in the New England region with good photography collections. I hope others found it as helpful as I did.

This thread hopefully will stimulate discussion concerning areas of Fall color in the region. If N.E. Apugers are willing to share information on this it could prove a good resource for Apugers within the area and those from other regions who are planning color photo safaris this Fall.

I'm 25 minutes north of the Connecticut line in Western Mass. and as of Friday September 18th I don't have anything to report yet. I'm hopeful that the wet weather earlier this summer will make for some good color this year. From what I've seen, The Pioneer Valley around UMASS expects peak color around Columbus Day weekend--on average.

Which reminds me of the old statisitcs joke about the statistician who sat with his feet in the oven and his head in the freezer but on average he was quite comfortable.

Anybody from Northern Maine or New Hampshire have any info to share yet? Anybody in Southern Rhode Island or The Cape care to estimate the average date of peak color in their area?

Apug Leefpeepers of New England unite!!

RT
 
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Ektagraphic

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I am a photographic leafpeeper and proud of it! I just LOVE the fall colors. Fall is my favorite part of year! AMAZING scenery and a perfect temperature. Apple sider, Kodachrome, and I am ready to rock and roll! I was up near Rumford Maine a couple of weeks ago. We have a place up there. The colors were just starting to come out. Over in the New Bedford, Dartmouth, area very very little color is out but there are small signs it is coming.
 

bdial

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Some of the Red Maples are turning, and the color of the particular stand I'm thinking of has been progressing over the last several days. Everything else is still green, so far.
 

Drew B.

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the Cape has some touches of color...but nothing dramatic yet. How about a foliage tour of the Brattleboro, Vt area?
 

Roger Thoms

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Hey I'm out here on the West Coast, sure hope you all will be posting images of the great fall colors.

Roger
 

asrafferty

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rternbach said:
I'm 25 minutes north of the Connecticut line in Western Mass. and as of Friday September 18th I don't have anything to report yet.

Apug Leefpeepers of New England unite!!

RT
Click to expand...


RT, jump on 91 North and bang a left at 89 (or a right in about 2 weeks). I'm in the Hanover/Lebanon, NH area, and our maples are already flaming in spots, the birches are doing their gold-tinged thing, and if they can survive the occasional winds, I'm thinking in a week to ten days we'll be there. Most wonderful fall I can remember in a long time -- sunny days in the 60's, and scraping the bottom of the 40's overnight. I guess we were paying dues during this stupidly rainy summer, because it's really paying off beautifully now. I think this will be one for the books (or the portfolios ).
 
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rternbach

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Thanks for that info. We sure did pay our dues putting up with all that rain and humidity this past summer. Glad I saved some KR64 for photos this Fall. We have some family just south of Lebanon so we will make plans to visit them in a couple of weeks but I guess we should call first and not just show up with cameras, film, and the dog.

I'm wondering about the color timeline for the Canada/VT border now that I just heard that the temp for Burlington was below freezing last night. New England may have the best color in the next few weeks but it will probably also be colder than any other region in the lower 48 as well.

See http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peakmap/ but note the disclaimer from Yankee Magazine. Also, their claims that "it will be glorious" sure didn't apply to the 2008 Fall colors.

RT
 
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Drew B.

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that's my anniversary weekend...hmmm, maybe I can talk my wife into driving up.....??
 

skyrick

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I'm 1000+ miles away from your area but had the good fortune a few years ago to be in that part of the continent for fall. My suggestion, go North young man. The Eastern Townships area of Quebec province have the same mountains, climate and trees as NH & VT, but nowhere near the crowds of sightseeing buses.
Brome, Magog and Greater Sherbrooke were the areas we visited and were very impressed.

Rick
 

LizzBartlett

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We have are in the northern Berkshires and there is definitely something going on. The leaves, while technically green, are beginning their change into the yellows and golds of autumn. These are mostly maples right now since birches tend to be just a step behind. Swamp maples (the red ones) are the first ones jumping up and down to get attention.

Anyway, to track the conditions I use a few web sites covering Maine, NH and VT. They have just begun posting updates so peak will come along pretty soon.

Maine: http://www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/
New Hampster:Dead Link Removed
Vermont:http://www.foliage-vermont.com/

hope these help out. I'm going to hike the Moat Ridge next Saturday so if there are any APUGers who'd like to join me, let me know and we can arrange times, etc.

IBBY!
Lizz
 
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rternbach

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bdial said:
OK,Who wants to meet up in Brattleboro on Oct 3 or 4 for a fall color shoot?
Click to expand...

OK, I could do that. Maybe some other Apugers from VCP in Brattleboro would be interested as well.

RT
 
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rternbach

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Yes, compared to Sherbbrooke my area of Western Mass. is overrun with tourists and visitors when the color peaks and this is made worse because the colleges in the area (Mt.Holyoke, Smith, UMASS, Hampshire, Amherst, Williams et al.) all seem to have their family weekends, big football games, and nationally advertised conference meetings scheduled to coincide with peak color. Still, good photo-opportunities abound and with the advice and experience of "locals" who know the backroads and tripod holes most of the traffic and elbowing can be avoided.

RT
 

firstdue

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Last year I put almost 140 miles on my shagging around for 'foilage.' I never strayed more than about 9 miles from my home.

If there are "crowds" in the usual places, seek out the unusual places. There are so many side roads and country roads that are off the beaten path it's crazy. And for those of you who have no sense of direction, get a GPS, you won't get lost. (I prefer a 2-dimensional navigation system myself, one made of paper.)

As for north central Mass right now, the colors seem to be muted still. I'm not sure if we're going to get any blazing color or not. With the rain this weekend we'll see.
 
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rternbach

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firstdue said:
...As for north central Mass right now, the colors seem to be muted still. I'm not sure if we're going to get any blazing color or not. With the rain this weekend we'll see.
Click to expand...

Same holds for Greenfield, Mass. area near 91. It shold be significantly cooler after this rain so that may accelerate the changes though.

RT
 
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rternbach

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A few cold nights and the color changes are accelerating here in Western Mass.
RT
 
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rternbach

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Now's the Time to Get Serious About Fall Color!

Okay, it's happening fast now in Western Masstts. Looks like peak color this year in the Pioneer Valley may be before Columbus Day. Still, with all the variability over the region there should be lots of color-ops between Southern VT and the Connecticut line over the next ten days.

RT
 
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Ektagraphic

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More and more color down around the New Bedford area. I would say this weakend if not a little later will be nearing peak.
 

papagene

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I thought I would share this with all you other New Englanders...
 

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rternbach

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There's still lot's of color to be found but it may not be very vibrant; I don't know why it isn't as vibrant as I remember it but I have my suspicions. Acid rain, gobal warming, and the Bush administrations come to mind.
 
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