Peak Color Arrives

Foliage in Starksboro, October 2009

Every day on my way to work, I notice more orange, red and yellow popping up along the hillsides of Vermont. It started as a gradual change, but now the landscape is quickly turning vibrant and bright.

Across most of the state, fall foliage is in full swing. In some places, the color is at its height. Peak fall color is starting to appear in the Northeast Kingdom and across the higher elevations, including parts of the Green Mountains.

It feels like the leaves turned quite suddenly over the past week. But when I look at the calendar and see that Friday is October 1st, I realize that fall foliage is pretty much right on schedule.

Back to the Peru Fair

Musicians at the Peru Fair in 2008.

On Saturday Dave and I are going to the Peru Fair, which is my favorite fall event in Vermont. The fair, held on Main Street in the small town of Peru, features artists, musicians, performers and a wildly popular pig roast (the fair's logo is actually a pig).

The fair started in 1978 as the "end of the world tag sale." If I had to describe the Peru Fair today, I would say it's timeless and a little off-beat – just like Vermont.

**If you go: Peru Fair
Map

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park

The mansion at the park.

We celebrated Dave's 35th birthday in Woodstock over the weekend and visited Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, a 550-acre park that opened to the public in 1998. The park is the only national park in Vermont, and it's the only national park to tell the story of conservation history and land stewardship in the United States.

The property was the childhood home of George Perkins Marsh, one of America's first conservationists, and later the home of Frederick Billings. The park was created by a gift from its most recent owners, Laurance and Mary Rockefeller.

On the grounds you'll find conserved forestland, pastures and trails along the hills of Mount Tom. The lower end of the park includes the old residential section of the property, which includes a beautiful mansion (tours are offered), a swimming pool and recreation building with a bowling alley.

Sorry guys, the pool and bowling alley are closed to the public.

**If you go: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park
Map

Dave outside the front porch of the mansion.


A swimming pool on the property.

The grounds around the mansion.

Ready for Fall

Fall foliage in Montpelier, October 2009

Now that I can see some of the leaves beginning to change, I'm feeling more geared up for fall. There's not too much fall foliage to enjoy in Vermont just yet, but we'll start to see more dramatic color over the next week or so.

With everything that has been going on in my personal life, I haven't had much time to get out with my camera lately. But now that things are settling down, Dave and I plan on taking a bunch of fall weekend road trips to Woodstock, Manchester, Waitsfield and a few other places.

I'm ready.

A Changing Landscape

This summer was mostly a blur for me. I spent a good part of it with my mom, who has been in hospitals and health/rehabilitation centers for the past two months. She is doing better, regaining her strength and moving forward. Still, things are changing.

I tend to think of the ups and downs in life as seasons – stretches of time that are either ordinary, wonderful or painful. My guess is that this is probably a pretty common thought process. For me, these seasons can be a period of weeks, months or years, and I usually label them once the time of happiness or sadness has passed.

Needless to say, these past several weeks have been difficult for my mom and my family. But during this time I've shared many tender moments with my mom that I'll forever cherish and hold close to my heart.

It's hard to say how I'll eventually describe the current season I'm in. Right now I just can't find the words.

Apple Season in Vermont

I'm trying to switch into fall mode, but it's not easy. The month of August seemed to go by in a flash and before I knew it, I was hearing about back-to-school, football and apple season.

While back-to-school and football are right on schedule, the fall apple season is starting a bit earlier than usual this year. Warmer temperatures last spring followed by a freeze in May caused some initial concern about this year's apple crop. But Vermont apple growers remain optimistic and expect to harvest about 800,000 bushels.

My office, the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, is sponsoring the annual "Apples to iPods" promotion. Specially marked wooden apples will be hidden in participating apple orchards this fall. The lucky winners who find a wooden apple will win an Apple iPod, and one winner will receive an Apple iPad.

To help reset our seasonal clocks, I thought I would share some photos taken last year at Shelburne Orchards in Shelburne.

**If you go: Shelburne Orchards
Map
Apples to iPods
Vermont Apple Orchards