New England Foliage Blog from YankeeFoliage.com

Fall Foliage is showing early in New England?

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +0100

From all the reports about fall foliage in New England being early, one would think we would be in the thick of fall weather. I hate to say this but these reports are just deviations from the norm. It's just the 1st of Sept here in Salem and the daytime high was in the 90s yesterday and more of the same today. You'd think I was down in Texas...

So to say fall is early, is misleading, What I wish they would say is the number of stressed trees is up from the past few years. I drove route 97 this past weekend and in years past I would expect to see one old gnarled maple that every August shows orange and by mid Sept is almost bare. This trip, I saw about seven trees that were showing signs of color.

This does not mean Fall is early so don't go changing your tickets to arrive before the color is gone.. I always tell you each year to pick a place to base your travels out of and this means you will be able to head north if the color is late or south if the color is early...

What does early color mean to us as leaf peepers?

All I know for sure is once a tree starts to turn it doesn't usually stop or slow down. So the downside is that these trees will most likely be bare about the time the rest of the trees are fully in color.

Are you going to miss the color?

No! You won't miss the color and just because someone reports full peak it doesn't mean their version of peak is mine or yours. We all have our opinions on this and even a week after "peak" has arrived there are still leaves on the trees with wonderful color. As much as some home owners would like it, the leaves don't hit peak color and are on the ground the next morning. This is a process that has to run its course... Unless of course we get 40-50mph winds which is never good for foliage peepers...

So all you can do is come and enjoy your vacation and if it's not perfect then there is always next year. I mean if it were a sure thing, would it be as much fun? I'd love to hear your opinion!

Be sure to check out the Yankee Magazine interactive foliage map for up to date changes reported by foliage ambassadors all over New England. If you live in New England you too, can contribute.

Be sure to stop in at the Yankee Magazine fall foliage forum where we all hang out. Pull up a chair by the fire and ask questions about your foliage plans and tell us what you found in years past.

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Want a little something to start your fall foliage craving Check out this video on You tube Are you starting to look for ideas for your autumn fall travels? Then stay with me here as I wind my way through fall and all of New England. If you are a facebook-aholic try www.facebook.com/YankeeFoliage to chat with folks who love the fall colors just like you. As always you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here. I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or the Facebook foliage page. If you have an immediate need you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer but since I don?t have anyone to answer my emails your wait time for an answer will vary.
Either way, I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Got Foliage?

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Looking good for the Fall Foliage Season!

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:00:00 +0100

Well I saw the first fall foliage report on the Yankee Magazine interactive foliage map. This means only one thing, fall foliage season is on the way! The transition to fall from summer is always a bittersweet occasion where I embrace each morning noting the cooler temperatures by the steam rising off my coffee. I know the day will soon warm up but it was only a few weeks ago that I couldn't take the morning heat and now I'm looking for a spot of sun on the carpet warmed by the sun for my toes...

In my last report I remarked that I had found that which I had lost.

I drive an awful lot of miles and I accidentally come across many neat places. I had found this bandstand or gazebo on several trips in Vermont but in trying to tell someone where it was I couldn't for the life of me pinpoint it's location. Well when I got off 89 in Sharon and headed south on route 132 and a second later I found my bandstand next to the Sharon Congregational church and across from the Sharon Trading post.. (Always a nice stop when you've been on the road for a while) So I have a new resolution..

(Take better notes!) Make sure you also write down the little things you find along the way during your fall foliage trip and be sure to head over to the Yankee Magazine fall foliage forum where we all hang out.

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Want a little something to start your fall foliage craving Check out this video on You tube

Are you starting to look for ideas for your autumn fall travels? Then stay with me here as I wind my way through fall and all of New England. If you are a facebook-aholic try www.facebook.com/YankeeFoliage to chat with folks who love the fall colors just like you. As always you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here.

I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or the Facebook foliage page. If you have an immediate need you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer but since I don't have anyone to answer my emails your wait time for an answer will vary.
Either way, I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Got Foliage?

Visit my Facebook fan page for Vistaphotography

Back roads That Are Perfect For The Fall Foliage Season

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:00:00 +0100

I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day (for my stateside readers). I have to say, this is as hot a summer, as I've seen. Are you having a little trouble thinking about fall with all this heat? Me too but it's coming...

I talked with Gale Ross from the Department of Conservation for Maine and she says that if the current temps and rain fall continue we'll in good shape for a wonderful fall!!!

Back roads are for finding fall colors.

The joy of my job is that I have to explore to do it. If I notice on the map that a road veers off only to reconnect a mile or five down, I'll take it to see what is there. Sometimes it's only a subdivision (Boooo) but sometimes it's a road to adventure with endless possibilities.

(you never know what's around the next bend)

I love to try out roads that are in our own back yards. All too often folks will stay on the main road because that's the quickest until they are forced by a detour to take a side road. There's nothing wrong with this unless of course you are on the prowl for fall colors. So forcing yourself out of those comfortable driving patterns is the key.

Here is a test; how many alternate routes to work or your favorite grocery store do you know? (Substitute your location of choice and leave a comment below)

Rule #1, if the sign says (any-town, your choice) and "Old Main Road" then I hope you aren't in my way because I will veer off on it to explore.

Some of these roads have been duds but some, if not most of them, have been delicious visual experiences.

I was heading to the Quechee balloon festival last month (photo at right) and had to bypass the Woodstock exit on 89 since the traffic was backed up onto the highway. So I went 11 miles further to the Sharon exit. (Next week I'll tell you what I found there!! So stay tuned)

I took the road less traveled (route 14) and came upon the "Old Quechee Main road". So I veered off onto this "side" road for 5-6 miles, winding my way past houses, barns and fields, generally enjoying the drive.

I arrived right at the parking area for the festival without any of the traffic hassles of going through town and much happier for it. And best yet I had found yet another route that, come this fall, will be very interesting to see all dressed up for fall foliage leaf peeping.

My lesson learned? The best routes aren't always the most direct and always take your time to explore.

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Want a little something to start your fall foliage craving Check out this video on You tube

Are you starting to look for ideas for your autumn fall travels? Then stay with me here as I wind my way through fall and all of New England.

If you are a facebook-aholic try www.facebook.com/YankeeFoliage to chat with folks who love the fall colors just like you. As always you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here.

I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or the Facebook foliage page.

If you have an immediate need you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer but since I don't have anyone to answer my emails your wait time for an answer will vary.
Either way, I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Got Foliage?

Visit my Facebook fan page for Vistaphotography

Steps For A Successful Foliage Trip

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Mon, 24 May 2010 04:00:00 +0100

There are at least 5 steps (maybe more..) but today I'm going to touch on "planning" and why it helps me.

It's nearly summer here in the North East which means fall foliage season is just around the corner. I hear the familiar song of the eastern Phoebe announcing her presence and a soft breeze is coming in through my open window. In counter point I have Cheryl Wheeler's stripped album playing (OK it's a CD but I'm old enough to remember albums...).

The first step is to identify the three W's (the important ones) Folks are already into their planning for this year which is good and of course they want to know when to go (as always) and what to do and see. I hate to say this folks but heck we not even into summer yet! You also want to know the best weekend to show up! Not a week (7 days) for me to shoot for but two days! Hmmm let's see, where are my darts and the map! :-)

Let's start with the three W's. What, Where, When and why you need them. Yes there are two more but if you don't know who you are then I doubt I can help you. (as to the Why? Well why not?)

I want you to write down everything you think you might want to see while here and put these into the "What" column. (Don?t know what to see, talk to family and friends) These should also reflect what everyone in your party likes to do. Do you have a history buff for war memorials? Check! How about an Antiques searcher? Check! How about a photographer? Check! How about maple cotton candy? Check! Hey it's my list not yours...

These things define what will come next, The Where, to go column. The Where tells you based on the interests of the group what to look for? If you have kids you won't want to spend hours on the road looking for foliage but intersperse peeping with kids activities like Clark's Trading Post in NH's white mountains or Sturbridge Village in MA (kids and history buffs). Searching for activities is so much easier with the Internet at your finger tips today and with the ?What? column to spur ideas you will begin to create an itinerary.

Now, this leads to when! This is both hard and easy because you really only have thirty days to pick from with a big bulls eye on the Columbus Day weekend. This is the easy choice because; historically this long weekend has the best viewing opportunities. It's also the hard part since a million other folks are planning for that weekend like bears to honey!. So if you have the flexibility, you might look at the weekend prior or later using a vacation day or two and picking a hotel a little further north or south (depending on earlier or later).

If you then choose the earlier week then you might pick somewhere around Sugar Hill NH (always a gorgeous spot) and one of the Inns/B&B's in that area like Sunset Hill House Inn. Or you could look at the North East Kingdom like St Johnsbury or Craftsbury Vermont.

If you choose later then southern VT/NH/ME and MA are in order. The key to successful leaf peeping is to be flexible and what was the other thing.. Oh yeah FLEXIBLE! Just because I recommend a particular spot because it HAD good color in 2003, remember, past performance does not guarantee future foliage.

First, if you have a need to chat with folks who love the fall colors, you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here. And if you like to visit via Facebook please visit our Fan page at www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage. I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com.
I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

[Jeff "Foliage" Folger]

(http://www.vistaphotography.com)

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Expectations for a Fall Foliage trip

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0100

You've heard it before "I remember the color that year; it was the best year for reds".

Maybe you sat at your grandfather's knee as he told stories about riding through the White Mountains in his old "woody" station wagon. Or told about a covered bridge that was painted a red that was brighter than the maples on both sides of the river; it was also where he first kissed grandma when they were much younger.

Whatever the story, our expectations after hearing tales like this set the bar pretty high. Our imaginations have painted a picture of what we'll find when we get out there and sometimes what we find doesn't quite live up to what we have created in our imaginations.

This happens to us all and what I usually do is to leave the scene behind and venture out to find other areas nearby that I haven't created a preconceived artist's rendition in my mind of. I find that while the story of the one location is set in my mind, there may be a scene only a block away or a farm just over the hill with really great color and the valley rising on all sides around it.

The thing that makes this so very special for me is that I discovered it for myself and it will be indelibly marked in my memories as something I personally found. Whatever I do find, it's something new for me and now I can tell my grand kids about this scene I found that had the most incredible color and maybe I'll tell them that I kissed grandma under that big old maple and the red of her lips was as red as the leaves. :-)

So while our expectations may be high, we can still find wonderful fall memories if we but listen with our heart and explore with our spirit open to the adventure of discovery.

Remember to enjoy the beginning of each sunrise and the end of each sunset, for it's a gift never to be wasted.

Now after this, if you feel a need to chat with folks who love the fall colors like you, you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here. If you like to get your foliage fix via Facebook, please visit our Fan page at www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage. You can also reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com. For all your research be sure to visit www.Yankeefoliage.com. Once there you can check recommended routes and also sign up to be a foliage ambassador. Yankee has contests for both you and the kids and there is so much more. I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

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Fall Foliage Stories in New England

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:00:00 +0100

You've heard it before 'What happens in (location of your choice) stays in (same location)' Well today I'm going to tell a few of those stories that get told on the Yankee Foliage Forum.

I've just scoured the forum for a few of the stories but there's so many and space is limited, so here are a few.

First the food:

We all enjoy a good meal when we go on a vacation and our forum readers have no end of stories about food. One forum reader, "Mary Jo" says "LeRoy will probably want to find some more maple peanut butter; (got it this year at Danville's, autumn on the Green), it was new to him and he just loved it".

Of course what is New England without lobster??

There are too many places to mention them all but Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine is the most talked about! Since they close down after Columbus Day and if you get There too late there is another Red's where Jinkies likes to get as many breakfasts as she can. She loves Red's Sandwich Shop in Salem, MA.

It also seems breakfast is a popular subject and another reader said: "The manager of Steamboat in CT told us about a great breakfast place that the locals of Mystic dine. It is called Kitchen Little. And that is exactly what it is...a very small kitchen with the best food!"

The experiences vary wide and far across all of New England:

The stories are from the world over. One visitor from the UK said this: "I was doubtful that the fall was going to be as incredible as everyone was making out. After all we have autumn in the UK too! I have to admit that the experience was awe inspiring in its truest sense. How do you yanks manage to fit a little neon light into each leaf, in each tree, in each forest, in each county, in each state?".

Arlene said this: "We rented a SUV and put on 1700 miles in a huge loop in 13 days. We saw your world at its brilliant best! Moosehead Bay was our most northern stop. Every rise in the road brought new color, every dip a new farm scene. I took a zillion pictures. We found the people friendly, warm and helpful. We still e-mail exchange with a waitress we met in Hartford. We got lots of advice as to which side roads we should take. Why, even the mayor of Wells opened our accidentally self-locking vehicle and told us where to get the best lobster lunch in the area!

My favorite: We relished every daylight moment we could, taking in the awesome beauty

Now, if after this, you feel a need to chat with folks who love the fall colors, you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here. If you like to get your foliage fix via Facebook, please visit our Fan page at www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage.

For questions You can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com and for all your research be sure to visit www.Yankeefoliage.com and check routes and contests and more.

I look forward to chatting with all of you this season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

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2010 Fall Foliage Season in New England

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Greetings Leaf Peepers, Foliage ambassadors and Outdoorsy folks in general...

Well several of you have already opened up the season by throwing some questions my way and just as the Red Sox are on their way to spring training to get limbered up, I will start to limber up my foliage thoughts and pull together information for the upcoming fall foliage season.

My first thought is that we tend to love maples for several reasons. First in my mind is the wonderful shades of crimson and orange-yellows they can turn. But! Another is the wonderful maple sugar product we love so dearly. (Just this morning I had maple cream on my toast, so go with me on this...) :-)

We're getting ready to go into the maple syrup season and as seasons go, this one tends to be even shorter than the fall foliage season. Maybe it can also be a seventh season in between the winter and mud seasons. Although maple season really runs concurrently with mud season. Let me know if you think it qualifies for its own season?

Well for those who crave that sugary goodness or you remember my article from last fall about sugar shacks being a magnet for fall color then I thought you might like to have a listing of sugar shacks!

I went and pulled many lists together so you don't need to scour the internet. I've put together a list that you can download and print. As it says in the PDF. Please contact the owners if you are going there for purely photographic purposes as they may or may not allow photography of their operations. I have not photographed any of these so please let me know if they do not allow you to photograph and I can remove them from the list.

Mark your calendar for NEK Fall Foliage Festival.

I just got my first update that Peacham is going to have their fall festival on 30 September 2010. The other North East Kingdom towns will be out shortly so I'm sure those folks who love to head out early in the fall foliage season will have many NEK towns to choose to visit.

This begins the foliage season with Jeff Foliage and if you have questions during the upcoming year then you have many avenues to contact the foliage gang. First, if you have a need to chat with folks who love the fall colors, you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here. And if you like to visit via Facebook please visit our Fan page at www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage. I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com.

I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you during this coming season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

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2009 fall foliage season comes to a close

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Greetings Leaf Peepers!

This will be a short missive since today is the last day of Fall (If you ignore the 8 inches of the white stuff outside my window). Tomorrow at 7:10AM you can go celebrate the Winter solstice at Marblehead's Beach Bluff Park Sun Circle.

This now ends the fall season for me officially but have no fear! If you have a need to chat with folks who love the fall colors, you can visit the Yankee forum by clicking here.

If you like to visit via Facebook please visit our Fan page at www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage. All the contest winners have been posted so be sure to go by and see if you won @ www.yankeefoliage.com

I, of course am never far away and you can find me prowling the foliage forum at Yankee or you can reach me at jeff.foliage@gmail.com.
I look forward to chatting with all of you next season!

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

Got Foliage?

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2010 fall foliage prediction by Jeff Foliage

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Greetings Leaf Peepers! 6 Days until winter means 6 days of fall left!

Well I don't know how many of you found this year's fall foliage season but from my emails everybody was very happy with what they found from peepers in Israel to Wisconsin, everybody was happy. I myself give this year a 7 on the Jeff Foliage scale. The rain was for me a deciding factor and let's face it; given the choice to photograph on a sunny afternoon or a rainy one, most of us will take the sunny one.

Butch Lombardi who is very active on the fall foliage fan page on Facebook has posted many pictures where he admits, it was drizzling or worse snowing and he got wonderful pictures in spite of the weather. Check his site out at East Bay Images. Also there are many others and if you send me a link to an online gallery I will try to post it here. (note) It has to be to a permanent gallery and can have no advertising! Send your link to jeff.foliage@gmail.com.

2010 fall foliage prediction!

I always quantify my predictions with should be and could be and this prediction is no different. (So don't buy airline tickets based on this prediction) In reading the Old Farmer's Almanac this year I calculated about a 60% accuracy rating so based on this I probably have a 10% accuracy with what follows? :- ) For full details pick a copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac (click on the link to check out their site and you can even subscribe). OK, due to a slightly dryer year in 2010 (Yaaa!) and also cooler (Booo!) I predict a normal start to the season but it will be shorter than this year's (2009) but it may be much brighter (Yaaa!). So I think 2010 has a chance of being a great foliage year... Now the bad news...

The Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) had a really good year in 2009 and it looks like it will wreck havoc with the maples and oaks in various parts of New England. This little bugger has made it onto the Boston news and in the papers several times in the past few weeks while it came out in record numbers during its breeding season. Right at the edge of Salem woods where several of my favorite maples and oaks reside, Lisa and I observed thousands of the males (if not more) fluttering at the edge of the forest. If you would like to read more click on the paragraph.

Check out our Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage and if you want to see won the fall foliage contest for this year visit the fall foliage contest page.

Jeff "Foliage" Folger

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How to find iconic fall foliage images

rss@ypi.com (Yankee Publishing Inc.) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Greetings Leaf Peepers! 20 Days until winter means 20 days of fall left!

If you have shots from this fall there are many places to show them off (besides your computer screen). First you can click on this link to go over to USA Today's On Deadline you can find instructions for submitting your fall picture. AND we would love to see them over on the

Facebook page that Yankee has so if you came north and took pictures please post them so we can see them!

Over the years I've been asked constantly two main questions. First they want to exactly when to come to New England to get here for peak? And my answer is always the same! If you figure out exactly when peak will be then you let me know.

Second, they want to know where every iconic scenic location is in New England. I've never been one to travel to the iconic scenes (I didn't even know where the Jenne farm was, OK, I admit it!).

I have to stress that I love exploring areas that don't show up on the radar of tour companies or in books. (so that's my excuse) I'm going to spend this winter and next fall trying to hit all the Iconic locations that I can fit in since.. well, I've never done that. This brings me back to the question? .... How does one find the Jenne farm and these other places?

Well I found a pamphlet that a Massachusetts photographer, Arnold Kaplan, self publishes. I decided to talk to him and see why he put this information out there.

I think you know that I try to share what and where I find places but I wanted to hear about why he does it. Now I'm probably one of the higher mileage photographers in the fall but I pale in comparison when you consider he's been doing photography since the 1940s and is currently 94 years old! And he still drives to Vermont in the fall!

Following is why he wrote the book. Back in the 1960s he belonged to a photo club that would travel to Vermont to photograph in the fall. They would get up in the early morning and a small select group would take off and come back later with great iconic fall shots and wouldn't share with the rest.

This led Arnold to start exploring every back road in VT and over the next 20+ years he compiled where all the postcard views were located and then he would hand out sheets with the locations documented. He said this made him and his sheets very popular with everyone except for those trying to keep these locations to themselves.

Around 1977 he put all the locations he had into a yellow book "How to find (and photograph) The Photo-Scenics in Vermont" and he started selling it to local photo groups. It currently sells for $19.95 and currently has an addendum with some new locations and a few locations that are sadly no longer available due to fire, destruction of property or in one case a large orange maple tree at the Jenne farm had split and fallen down.

I hope to get out and test his notes that say these places are just as pretty in the winter and if you keep checking back here I will post what I find during the winter and into the spring.

Check out our Facebook page @ [www.facebook.com/yankeefoliage[5] and if you want to see more wonderful fall photography then be sure to visit the reader photo gallery and email your favorite image to your friends and family. Jeff "Foliage" Folger Of course I can be reached at jeff.foliage@gmail.com if you have questions between now and next fall. Got Foliage?

Click here to follow my foliage reports in real time on twitter? Visit my Facebook fan page for Vistaphotography