On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
JanieM
I grew up in northeastern Ohio, which has beautiful fall color but lacks the mountain vistas of New England. In later life I’ve lived on the same property in central Maine for thirty-three years and counting, so I’ve got thousands of fall color pics in my folders. It’s hard to choose just a few!
Every year is different. Some years there are tiny patches of deep red scattered here and there in early August. Other years, like this one, there’s no noticeable color until well into September. Some years the color comes gradually, other years – the rarest, and most stunning – it all explodes at once. This year it started late, but between summer-long drought and early frost it’s moving much faster than usual.
Regardless of annual variations, there are predictable phases: an early period when trees are turning but there’s still a lot of green mixed in, and then a phase when there’s no more green but also not a lot of bare trees yet. Then there’s the time – a few days or a couple of weeks – right after most of the trees are bare, when the ground is colorful and the sunny days are much brighter, because the shade is gone. (Then there’s November, which doesn’t bear thinking about, unless you’re a deer hunter.)
I haven’t tried to represent all the phases, just to capture a variety of moods. As you’ll see, I love reflections. Luckily, central Maine has a wealth of lakes and rivers to provide them.
This is the end of a five-mile long lake, across the road from my house. Early evening. This shot was taken from my living room, hence the wires.
Taken from the town beach.
Morning sun, a bit of breeze.
Different weather, different zoom, afternoon instead of morning.
Near a boat landing, but almost always a quiet spot.
Sometimes I get in the car and drive to find vast vistas of color, but more often I just take pics of the gems that show up along my normal rounds. I have favorite trees scattered all over central Maine by now. This is one of them.
This was one of the ancient maple trees that stood for maybe a century and a half in the front yard of the property where I live. A few years ago the power company, with the collaboration of the owner, took them down. It was a couple of years before I could walk around to the front yard without getting tears in my eyes. (My apartment is around the back.)
Related shots:
— the once and future landscape — one of the remnants, and a couple of rows of young maples;
— looking up into the heart of the matter;
— tapped.
Birches, always late to the party.
seefleur
I immediately recognized the Torsey Pond view – one of my best friends lives in Readfield. I live further up north on I-95. You have a very good eye for capturing the quiet beauty of our state. Lovely photos!
WaterGirl
I LOVE these pictures.
JanieM
@seefleur:
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. :-)
seefleur — I’ve said it before and no one bit the hook, but maybe when COVID is tended to and we’re all out and about again, we can have a Maine meet-up. I wonder if I know your friend…maybe, maybe not. I’m much less plugged in locally than I was when my kids were actually kids.
Ms. Deranged in AZ
These are terrific! Thank you for sharing them. In my neck of the woods I have to drive a few hours north and it’s totally a hit or miss as to whether you catch the autumn leaves or not. I miss the seasons so very much.
mayim
Hi, neighbor! Maine is a fascinating state, and it’s a great place to live in many ways.
I’m in Augusta ~ not at all where I pictured when I dreamed of living in Maine when I was a child, but I’m walking distance to my dream job, so I make it work. And trips ‘upta camp’ from May to November are what I dreamed of. One of the few good things about the pandemic has been that ~ with working from home ~ I was at the family house at the lake all summer, with just occasional trips into the office.
P.S. I’d be interested in a meet-up ~ partly because I’d be curious home many attendees I’ve already met in other contexts ;-)
Mathguy
Beautiful pictures. The contrasting Belgrade Stream pictures are especially nice (one taken on my birthday!). Thanks for sharing these.
JanieM
@mayim: Neighbors indeed!
I remember my befuddlement when I first heard someone use the word “camp” in the Maine way — I was looking for a babysitter my first summer here, and the real estate agent whose extra apartment we were renting said she had a teenager in mind who she thought would be good. She started to give me the girl’s family’s phone number (1987, so household landline). Then she paused and said, “But I don’t know if they’ll be there. They may already be gone to camp.”
Where I came from, kids went to (summer) camp, not whole families. That was my first Maine vocabulary lesson
PS When we can socialize again, let’s propose a meet-up. I’ve been reading BJ for about five years and have noticed quite a few people from Maine, but haven’t actually kept a list.
currants
@WaterGirl:
Me TOO.
Dan B
Seattle had a rare great year for fall color due to some frost in mid October. I grew up in hilly Ohio west of Akron with good Fall color, sometimes as good as Maine. Glad to see your color!
JanieM
@Dan B: My next set has one or two from Ohio, as did one of my respite sets. I go to Ohio pretty often, and almost always (until this year) in October, because two of my family members have October birthdays. One thing I’d like to do sometime is take a bunch of pictures of farmsteads in Ashtabula County — you see all those cornfields (or soy, or whatever), and then in the middle of it all the farmhouse typically has a stand of very ancient, beautiful trees shading it. Some of them are breathtaking in the fall. I’m a little shy of just stopping the car on some of those roads, but one of these years I’ll manage it.
Dan B
Seattle had a rare great year for fall color due to some frost in mid October. I grew up in hilly Ohio west of Akron with good Fall color, sometimes as good as Maine. Glad to see your color!
@JanieM: Ashtabula has milder weather than Wadsworth. We are higher elevation. At Christmas we often were at relatives in Lakewood or Bay Village (west of Cleveland – by the lake). We were often outside in light sweaters vs. winter coats in Wadsworth. I envied my cousins in Lakewood. After Christmas the chill really set in. My birthday in early October was almost always very chilly.
Aleta
@JanieM: I’ve been told there used to be little towns in Maine where pretty much the whole town “went up to camp” for the summer. In one place, mostly on the same lake, and the town ‘business’ carried on from there.
WaterGirl
@Dan B: Then why I don’t I have Fall Colors photos from you? :-)
JanieM
@Aleta: I can believe it. I have a friend or two with extended family clusters of camps even now. One of them calls it going “up country.” Although that’s not as common a usage, in my experience.
JanieM
@JanieM: Or maybe it’s “up the country.”
Or maybe it varies by county. ;-)
stinger
Like the birch I am late to the party, but, JanieM, I must say how very much I love these photos. The birch across a green velvet lawn and the Belgrade Stream “same spot” I could hang on my wall — or better yet, enlarge and tape over my windows from December through March!
JanieM
@stinger: Thanks, I’m glad you like them.