Autumn ... New England's Very Best Season

I had planned to continue the There to Here series today, but the days here have been spectacular and I want to share them with you. I doubt there’s a better place to be in the autumn than New England. The days have been warm and the nights cool. There’s a clean, crispness to the air and just taking a breath is a delight. Having been away for so long, I think I appreciate it more than folks who live here. It brings back wonderful memories of autumns past. The leaves are changing color.

Autumn leaves in vibrant hues of scarlet, gold, orange, yellow and green. It takes your breath away!

There are apple and pumpkin stands along every country road, it seems. The orchards offer Pick Your Own apples along with fresh cider and homemade apple-cinnamon donuts and apple pies. Kids are entertained in corn mazes and take hay rides in tractor-drawn wagons. Hardy mums are the flowers of the season and they’re in full bloom, fearlessly weathering the first frosts.

Breezy Gardens in Leicester is all about celebrating autumn!

The bees are working overtime on the last of the season’s sunflowers in anticipation of a long, cold, snowy New England winter ahead.

Pumpkin-mania has set in big time and there's nary a shop that doesn't offer something pumpkin. Local pick-your-own fields have turned orange with ripe fruit waiting to be harvested.

We traveled to Vermont a few years ago right around Columbus Day, the peak of the season. The foliage was so brilliant, so vibrant, it boggled our minds. There was eye candy everywhere we turned. Alas, this year, work on Blue is taking precedence over leaf-peeping. I’m not complaining … just reminiscing a bit. I've written several Vermont blogs, by the way, if you're interested.

A pinto grazing midst a riot of brilliant foliage on a country road in Vermont.

We’ll continue with There to Here and head to the Australian mainland soon, but it’ll wait for a couple of days as I savor the beauty all around me today. Sometimes you just gotta take time to smell the roses ... or watch the falling leaves.