Leaf Peeping in New England
Back in 2001 my husband and I planned our first visit to the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. We planned to spend time with our daughter in Washington first, then embark on our adventure to become ‘leaf peepers’. The grand expedition had to be timed so that we could see the best that New England had to offer. We bought a guide book (yes, back in the day) and made our plans.
We settled on flights for late September that would work in well with our trip to DC, New England and then back to DC. On the 11th of the month, I was on the phone with my daughter when the first plane hit one of the twin towers. As everyone knows, that awful day unfolded with sickening horror on tv sets throughout the world. We lost all communication with our daughter shortly after our conversation except for an email telling us that the military was on the streets and the downtown area was being evacuated. I was frantic. Another arrived very late at night telling us that she was fine, and at home. I was slightly reassured. Flights were cancelled, the skies closed to air traffic and we wondered if we would be able to get across the pond to visit her, but gradually air traffic resumed and we arrived in DC on our scheduled date.
We set off on our planned itinerary which took us along leafy trails, through small towns and hamlets; we stopped where and when we wanted and took time to enjoy the amazing spectacle that was New England in the Fall. These are six of the photographs that came back with us, though I’ve long forgotten the names of most of the little places that we passed through.
It was dreich here this week…every single day was dark and accompanied by that fine drizzle that soaks everything. I did manage to get a good number of plants into the ground, but the camera stayed firmly in its bag. As my thoughts always turn to New England when autumn leaves start to colour and fall (it’s a place I love) I thought I’d share some of the photos with you, instead of my very wet and muddy garden. We have friends now in CT and have been fortunate to have made several visits, though this was the only one during peak leaf season.
Have a good weekend everyone, I hope the sun shines for you. Please take care and stay safe.
ABOUT SIX ON SATURDAY
To join with other garden enthusiasts from around the world, and see how they garden, just take six photographs and post them to Twitter and/or your blog each Saturday. You can get all the details from The Propagator who kindly set it all up.
All photographs copyright of Catherine Wood unless otherwise stated
Notes From My Garden 
These autumn colours !… Beautiful shots Catherine…👏😍
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Thank you, Fred. I do wish I could get colours like those in my own garden. 😁
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Beautiful views. They do Fall well over in New England. It’s hard to believe that terrible day in September was over 19 years ago.
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There’s nothing to match the colour of fall in the New England states. I wouldn’t mind some of it in my own wee garden.
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You captured the autumn display so very wonderfully. It has been a dream of mine also to go see this display but I don’t think I ever will. Nowadays, I wouldn’t wish to visit the USA.
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I’ve been going to the US almost annually for over 20 years now, and love all the places that I’ve visited and people I’ve met. Like many other countries in the world, the US is in a difficult place right now, but nothing stays the same forever and I’m looking forward to the day when I can visit my family again. 😊
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Having family is both a magnet and a great benefit.
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It is, and the perfect holiday home.
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That must have been an absolutely horrendous day for you. It was terrifying watching from afar but you had reason to be even more scared. I am pleased that you have happy memories from your later trip, your photos are wonderful. I’ve always wanted to see New England in the fall, perhaps one day. Hope you are well and happy x
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Thank you, I’m both well, and happy, and will be a little happier when it stops raining and I can finish planting! 😁
Yes, it was a distressing experience, but nothing compared to that experienced by those who were more directly caught up in it.
If you ever get the opportunity to visit the New England states, do take it – it won’t disappoint! 🍁
Have a lovely week.
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Yes, that is still a horrific memory. My daughter’s good friend lived and worked in New York and all the phone lines were down. Fortunately, my daughter had a computer on which she did emails (unusual then believe it or not) and she contacted her friend so was able to reassure her frantic parents. I visited New York the next year and found the city fascinating. Your colours are beautiful. I’m glad they bring back happy memories. Is your daughter still in America? Our younger one is in Dubai (I am sure I mentioned it). I don’t know when we will see her next. Never mind, we have Google meet or Microsoft teams so we can see and speak to them.
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It was a time that none of us will ever forget. Yes, she’s still over there after 20+ years. She did her final year of university in DC, met her husband-to-be and the now have a lovely little family.
The current pandemic situation is making travel impossible for most of us, but I hope you get to see your daughter before too long. Our youngest is in Australia and we always stop off in Dubai to break the journey.
Just imagine what life must have been like for parents when children moved abroad in days gone by. No technology! 😳
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They are beautiful photographs Catherine. What a lovely place it is to visit. We went a couple of years ago, but in the Summer, but the pictures of the barns and white painted houses bring it all back.
I’m glad your daughter was OK. We were on holiday in Japan in 2001 and flying home the next day. There was no English language news, and no internet then, so we had only the pictures to go on; then gradually realising that they weren’t reporting a terrible accident.
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Even in summer there’s a lovely quaintness about the New England states that you don’t quite expect. I hope you enjoyed your trip.
The attack has attached a memory to everything else that we were doing on that day, it would have been quite shocking for you to find out the facts when you got home from your Japan trip.
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That is one area that really does do autumn colours well. I was teaching in 2007 when we went to New England for the autumn half term week, not knowing whether we would be too late for the display. We weren’t. It was fabulous and your beautiful photos bring back great memories of that trip. Hard to believe it was exactly 13 years ago!
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Time flies. I’m glad you got to see the autumn spectacle too – it’s lovely to have memories like that (and lots of photographs too, I hope!) 😁
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Oh yes. And an obsession for covered bridges 😊
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Katherine, I’m glad you posted your beautiful memories. Thoughts of 9/11 never fade here. Paddy’s comment saddens me, as we have so much wonder and beauty (and wonderful, beautiful people!) here in the U.S. I have lived around the world and find joy in each place… Have a lovely week.
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I think you have to visit the US to know what a fantastic place it is, and how warm-hearted the people are. I first visited the west coast and mid-west. when I was in my early 20’s. Life intervened and I didn’t get the chance to go back until my daughter moved there over 20 years ago. After that we visited every year until our youngest moved to Australia, then we had to visit them year about as it was getting too tiring (and expensive!)
I think one problem is that there are so many negative media reports coming out of the US at the moment – that influences people greatly. Then, of course, there is the pandemic that is keeping us all close to home, leaving us with no desire to travel anywhere.
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There is nothing to compare the colors of New England! My son lives in Rhode Island, having previously lived in Massachusetts. His first autumn there he sent me a photo album filled with autumn color. At the time I was in Northern California, with no color changes (people started putting in liquid amber trees, but that doesn’t really count), and even in Oregon now it’s nothing the same.
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The album must have been a lovely keepsake for you – that was a lovely thing to give you.
More people here are planting Acers now, and they’re starting to pop up in town planting, which makes the streets and grassy areas lovely in Autumn.
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Wow! Simply wow. That fairy tale tree is just glorious. We’ve only been to New York (2010) and loved every minute of our eight days there. New Yorkers were so helpful and friendly and wanted to talk as soon as they heard our accents. We’re not used to being the people with the accents!
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When I’m in the US I am always being asked if I”m Irish. 😁 I usually say ‘No, but you’re close’ and then they get it right.
My young granddaughters’ Australian accents are becoming more pronounced now that they’re both at school, I find it quite amusing to listen to them – two Australians, one Scot and one Irish in that family. Quite a mixture.
Enjoy your week!
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Some beautiful autumn colours!
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Autumn colours leave a lasting memory. 🍁
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What a treat seeing the stunning autumn foliage in New England! Being in a sub-tropical area we do not experience the depth of autumn colours your photos reflect. It is no wonder it is one of your favourite places. Thank you for sharing.
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We don’t have the same richness of colour here either, though areas further north into the Highlands usually do have fantastic colour. However, this year the colour in our area has been more intense than usual.
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I miss New England (living in Minnesota now), and autumn is my favorite season there. Thank you for the marvelous pictures that capture the magic!
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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I hope the photographs brought back some happy memories for you.
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