Happy First Day of Meteorological Fall! 9/1/21

[ctyanky]

Hello SOV Foliage Fanatics! Today is the first day of meteorological fall and I couldn't be more excited! This Labor Day weekend in New England will be our first real preview of autumn and I can't wait to wake up to the cool, dry crisp air that will be streaming in! We are already experiencing some early change in color around northern Connecticut, and not just in the higher elevations. Just driving around our back roads has put a permanent smile on my face!

Where did the summer go? Actually, I'm not sorry to say goodbye to the relentless rains and hot and humid weather the northeast has been experiencing lately, so on to our favorite season of all! I have been busy hiking, working out at the gym, swimming and enduring lots of house renovations and the time just flew by. I just looked at the last time I posted here and it was a few months ago! Normally, I start the countdown very early but better late than never I guess. That said, let's move onward to autumn in Vermont!

I'm looking forward to several trips up into Vermont! My new foliage excursions have now morphed into hiking adventures. I've traded in my horseback riding equipment for hiking gear and can't wait to experience Vermont's autumn blaze while on the trails. I continue to work on my endurance while hiking in the NW hills of CT before I head to Vermont's trailheads. I have several on the list and some repeat hikes to the firetowers. I have some fall festivals on tap to southern VT as well.

I'm also very excited to plan trips for my NH guys from this forum who will be coming down to Connecticut for a sneak peak in the latter part of September and again around the 3rd week of October. I love showing folks around my neck of the woods and have started to plan several loops in the NW hill towns! Last year my NH friend came down for the day in October and we were blessed with perfect fall weather and spectacular foliage.

Stay tuned for more updates and I hope to post more on the forum around the 3rd week of September when we have a better idea of how the season is progressing.

I hope you all are excited for autumn in Vermont! It can't come soon enough!!!!

CT

[loafer89]

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to contribute much to the forum. My Dad passed away on 7/31 and I lived with him. He had a reverse mortgage on the house and I'm looking at the house being foreclosed sometime in October. I'm disabled and currently looking for housing in Enfield. I'll try to get into Vermont this Fall,but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay in this house. I have family to go to, but they live outside of New England.

[ctyanky]

Hi Kevin, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad passing away. My heart breaks for you as I am familiar with parental loss. I am sure some great housing will appear for you in Enfield. Vermont will be there for you next year if you don't make it up this season. Rest assured, you still have beautiful Connecticut to explore and now that you know the NW corner is spectacular, perhaps you can find some peace in exploring the back roads once again in October. So sorry to hear of you housing dilemma but things just seem to work out ok in the long run. You are a great poster and we will miss your contributions but if you have time, it would be nice to hear from you here on this forum. Be well and again, my condolences on the loss of your father on July 31st.

PS I hope you managed ok with the deluge of flooding rains from the remnants of Ida. It was insane in my area.

[bobbav]

Holy cow! I kept checking the forum and haven't seen any activity (and there were periods where the site was returning errors), and I thought it went 'abandoned'!

Just walked down my driveway in Woodbury, CT and it most definitely felt like, smelled like, and looked like Fall today! We live on over 35 acres of woods, and can't wait for the first hints of color to start saying hello.

This year, we are staying at the West Hill House in Warren. Typically, we always stay in the Arlington/Manchester areas, but scored a beautiful suite for the weekend of October 15. We figured this will allow us to see more color driving up through Southern Vermont at this time, versus the 1st weekend in October, and hopefully catch the back-side of the peak (if not peak) in Warren. We will make our annual pilgrimage to Weston to visit the Vermont Country Store, Christmas Shoppe, and General Store. Did anyone know that Lynn who owns the Christmas Shoppe also owns the General Store next door with her husband...the 'fudge guy'?!

Now that the forum is 'live', I can start my pre-Fall Vermont experience early by getting in the mood here!

Stay well Everyone.

[ctyanky]

Oh my gosh Bob! I have stayed at the West Hill House B&B and it is a top 10 lodging! I know the suite you have mentioned. The breakfasts are out of this world! The owners are amazing and it is located on a hilltop and you can walk down the dirt road that parallels the inn. I hope to stay there again in the future. I was on the second floor at the top of the staircase. So quiet! The great room is nice too. You will return again I am sure. I have some excellent back roads around there. Let me know if you are interested!

I know! Today is a preview of fall and the weekend is looking mighty fine. I'm so ready! Have two hiking trips on tap! I heard you had terrible flooding there in Woodbury too.

The reason the forum was returning errors is that Tim, the board owner, was on vacation and I notified him of the problem. He corrected it as soon as he got back. It's pretty quiet in the summer anyways and normally I do post a lot, but I was over the top busy this summer.

Anyways, nice to see you back here. I'm taking my NH friend over to your area in a couple of weeks. I have some back roads given to me by the roads department but if you have any nice ones you can recommend, please let me know. We'll be in Roxbury, Woodbury and parts of Southbury on the southern end of the trip.

Take care! CT

[Utah Baker]

Glad to see everything back to normal! I too have tried multiple times to view the forum in the past few weeks and got nothing but a blank page. Looking forward to the reports and photos ! We are not able to come once again this year and it breaks my heart. Keeps us all well posted and enjoy!

[ctyanky]

Hi Janice! Nice to see you back here. Sorry you won't be in Vermont again, it is the same for a lot of people. Although, I did hear that tourism is off the roof in Vermont for fall. Everything seems to have been booked up long ago. Next year will be your year! I'm fortunate to live 2 hours from the border so even a last minute day trip is feasible. I always count my blessing for that as I am up there A LOT, especially in fall and sugaring season. Normally, I have 2 or 3 summer trips up but I ran out of time. The weather in southern New England was not the best this year. Tons of rain and humidity and hot weather. Not to mention, the Ida Hurricane remnants that just passed here and that was bad, really bad. This summer was so busy, I hardly went on the forum and if I had, I probably could have contacted Tim sooner. I got a quite a few inquiries lately about the malfunction but when I contacted him he was on vacation and he did get to it right away. At least we are back on "board" now!

Happy Labor Day Weekend to you! It is going to be really cool here tonight, maybe 40s and I am sure upper 30s in the NEK where my two friends have homes near Pensioner Pond!

Hope to see you in Vermont some year, it would be great! CT

[Colorado Mom]

Hi Everyone
I was having problems earlier getting on the site too. To be honest, I had a little freak out moment lol. I thought it was gone forever. So glad to see familiar names posting again. We won't be able to visit Vermont this year and I'm so sad...again. Hopefully everyone will post fantastic pics and I can enjoy your adventures on here. Even tho its in the 90s in Co, I just put up my fall decorations, bought mums and have fall candles burning. Hoping this hurry things along. LOL

[ctyanky]

Hi Colorado Mom! So good to see you here but I am sorry you will not be in Vermont again. Maybe next year? We have to meet at Farm Hillstead Brewery! Everytime I see a plaid fall coat I think of you and how we missed each other two years ago at the brewery. We've had some cool night and mornings but it looks like 80s most of next week. I delayed getting my mums because of the warm temps coming into September. With all the rain we have had, my summer plants are exploding with color and growth so will hang on to them a bit longer. But I'm glad you are getting a head start on fall decor and perhaps your cool weather will arrive soon. Take care and hope to meet you in Vermont 2022!