Having lived nearly the entirety of my (Karen's) 58 years in New England, autumn colors have always been just a part of the rhythm of life. Every fall, like clockwork, the leaves change from green to red or orange or yellow. Every fall of my life. When we first arrived in Vermont, I honestly couldn't understand why visitors flock from all over the world just to see some colorful leaves.
Then, a couple of Octobers ago, on a particularly stunning day during a particularly stunning fall, Mick and I went for a motorcycle ride up into the hills around Waitsfield, and then I understood. We didn't go far, as we really have no free time during the busy fall foliage season. Just a little ways down Route 100, then up to East Warren Road, to Common Road (one of my favorite places in the world to take a walk).
As we turned onto Common Road, lined with sugar maples and our lovely Green Mountains as a backdrop, I realized I was weeping. The beauty stirred something in my soul, and I was overcome with I'm not sure what. Awe. Gratitude. Wonderment. There I was, a New England girl through and through, crying my eyes out because of some pretty leaves. So, dear people, I do understand why you come to leaf-peep. It's like a religious or soulful experience, and something everyone ought to see at least once in their lives.
It's always a little sad to feel summer slipping away. But the sight of a first red leaf (which I found on the trail behind our inn the other morning) gives some solace. We go from one season into the next, from one kind of beauty to another, and all is as it should be. The earth continues its cosmic revolution, the world keeps spinning, and the rhythm of life propels us forward and around until we're back where we were a year ago, just a year older and a year, hopefully, a little bit wiser.
If you've never experienced a Vermont autumn, give yourself that gift. If you have, you deserve another look, as each year is different, and there are all kinds of goings-on around here as well. Plus we'll have a brand-new sauna for you this year!
No one (at least not us) can predict exactly when peak foliage will be. It's always sometime between late September and late October, but whether you arrive during peak or not it will be special. We still have some rooms available, especially weeknights. Come, and you might surprise yourself with some spontaneous weeping.
See you soon -
Karen and Mick
