Leaf Peeps

One of the perks of living in New England is the daily color change of leaves. In ideal conditions foliage in New England, notably Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and western Massachusetts is truly breathtaking, and that’s no pandering statement.

When Mother Nature is in her full glory, “the best things in life are free” is never more true. Sometimes we’re guilty of taking the transformation from green to yellows, oranges and reds for granted.

For the price of gas, a hotel room and a hearty meal, “Leaf Peepers” or “Foliage Hunters” marvel at the dense colors with appreciative wonder. They come for a weekend and leave with postcard worthy images and quarts of maple syrup.

We natives enjoy the beautiful foliage season, too. What’s not to enjoy when the sun of midday shines from the bluest sky and illuminates the mountains and valleys?

As kids raking leaves meant a competition to see who could make the tallest pile. Then who could run fastest to jump in and destroy it. Over and over.

It’s the clean-up work of adulthood we don’t like. A lawn overtaken by leaves is not a one shot clearing. You rake and within a week the lawn is covered again. Where’s the fun in that?

But today I saw some incredibly happy adults doing an adult job with the levity of children.

• A man with a leaf blower strapped to his back. He sang along to whatever music blasted through his headphones.
• A woman on a well-worn riding lawnmower. Her broad smile and sweeping wave to passing motorists, as regal as a Homecoming Queen.
• Another guy, also on a riding mower, made a game of “doing donuts”. The center of his lawn was adorned with a round rug of autumn leaves against the green turf.
• An elderly husband and wife raked leaves in tandem. One can only assume they’ve had years of practice.
• A dad raked several piles of leaves while his kids (or grandkids?) jumped in a pile. Then he ran with them and dove into a pile of leaves.

Today, if you’re lucky enough to live in New England, have some fun gathering your leaves. If you are a Leaf Peeper passing through, please come back and see us next year. The syrup will be waiting.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Awesome SEASONS

Photo credit: Michael Podger/Unsplash
Original Graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio