NE Fall Foliage Season Gets into Full Swing

Although New Englanders don't like to shout about it, the Northeast corner of the country will soon be the prettiest section of the country. It coincides with "leaf peeping season." This special season starts about two weeks after the official end of summer. It coincides with the first frost of the season (we had ours two nights ago).

What happens, the meteorologists on WBZ-TV, Boston, noted the other day, is that some of the leaves are still alive and producing chlorophyll, while others are at the end of the road and begin to take on the vivid hues for which they are known. For example, maple can turn bright red, while hickory and ash can turn bright yellow or orange.

Cool, Wet Spring, Summer

With the cool spring and early summer that plagued New England and the copious amounts of rain that fell, the mantle (top layer of leaves in a forest) has grown lush that when changes happen they will be especially noticeable.

And, taking into account the warm days and cold nights we've had, coupled with very little rain, the trees have begun to shut off their photosynthesis and colors have appeared.

Given the weather that New England has experienced, this should be a good year for the color wave which has already started marching from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (one of the farthest spots from Boston) so that the peak is there right now. It will be moving into Maine and Northern New Hampshire in the next week or so and it will hit southern New Hampshire in about two weeks. About the middle or end of October, the color wave will reach northern and central MA and then move on to the south.

Actually, with the weather that New England has been experiencing over the last 20 days or so, it's a wonder the that New England's "Annual Rite of Leaf Peeping" isn't already in full swing. (There's really no such rite, but it sounds good, so why not start one?)

It's not something that you will hear shouted from rooftops or from "every village and farm," to quote Emerson from "The Ride of Paul Revere." You might hear it whispered by the locals, though, as they talk about the great color season that's surrounding them and if you keep to yourself at a local bistro, you might even hear the locals talking about it aloud, until you identify yourself as an "out-of-stater." If you do announce that fact you'll find the room becomes reverentially quite, as if everyone was suddenly was waiting for the Cardinal to pass.

Slow-moving Traffic

It's not that New Englanders don't want "Leaf Peepers" driving around. We will gladly separate you and your money, it's just that roads that were clear on weekends will be full of slow-moving drivers from out-of-state, who are oohing and aahing the foliage.

These are the same visitors who, it seems, will dart across traffic - usually with no turn signal and with a cellphone clamped to the ear as they describe the scenes they are seeing to their friends or neighbors on the other end - to that "perfect little antique shop with the tables they've always wanted."

It really does make life interesting for the locals, who can't help but laugh, when the visitor claims to have found a "classic small town bakery with some great twisty bread," all the while the locals know that what the visitor has found is a bakery selling locally made Challah, that's also available at the local deli.

If this sounds negative, you have to realize, most of the year this little corner of the world is pretty much ignored by the rest of the world. It's at this time of the world that Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Gardner and Northampton suddenly gain respect and traffic. They do come with an attitude that they deserve respect and deference simply because they've made the trip.

Deference, Respect?

In reality, they are very right because we're very dependent on the money they bring with them and leave with us when they are gone. Many small businessmen depend on that money to pay their staffs, draw a salary, pay their bills and even have good holidays.

So, while we really secretly welcome your out-of-state plates. You will never hear us tell you that directly because our open lanes and roads are slowed to crawls on weekends. It's usually the same time we pick to do our "important" errands (most of them really can wait) and, believe it or not, some of the locals really resent it.

Not to worry, though, soon enough you'll be on your way home with your bags of "treasure" that some astute local businessman - who really had imported them from Taiwan - sold you for a nice profit. He'll be laughing all the way to the bank, as will many others, including the credit card companies.

And, yes, in a matter of weeks we'll have our streets back for all of our "important" trips to Target or Home Depot. And, if we want to see foliage, we'll likely have to drive to your home area to see it so that will make it your turn and you can do the same stuff to us.