Champlain Valley at peak foliage

The second autumn at New England’s lower elevations in this part of Vermont is stunning. The reds and oranges are very vibrant, good deep color. 

There aren’t the many expanses of trees in the Champlain Valley like in the forested Green Mountains. A tree or groups of trees are spectacular anyway,

I stopped at a small parking area to take a few pictures after my physical therapy session. The broken wrist hand is still stiff, but pain is rare unless I bang it or get it caught bending it too far.

Beautiful sky

Elements of Autumn

Foliage colors changing

In some areas, the trees are still mostly green. In the mountains after peak foliage has gone by, the lower elevation valley can be full of color, a sort of second autumn.

Today there is a lot of rain passing through. The ambient temperatures being lower adds to the feeling this fall is unlikely to have a second summer (warm weather spell). 

This time of year spices are a strong element as folks joke about pumpkin spice lattes. The aroma of cinnamon scents the brain with thoughts of baked apples and visiting quaint country stores. 

Picking apples and pumpkin hunting are nice excursions separate on their own from the trips out to leaf peeping.

An additional element to fall can be found at YouTube channels dedicated to tours of New England towns, woods and popular peak foliage locations. The walking tour videos with no voice narrations can be very relaxing. The videos are also handy for traveling, to get a feel for the area. 

Happy Autumn!

Only 7.5 days?

Lake Champlain in October

Looking over the waters of Lake Champlain, I wondered how many water bottles can be filled with that water. At 6.8 trillion gallons, it would fill 27.2 trillion quart water bottles. 

The population of Canada and America is about 390 million. For perspective, 1 trillion is 1000 billion and a billion is 1000 million. Easier to think in terms of zeros. 

1,000,000  million 6 zeros

1,000,000,000 billion 9 zeros

1,000,000,000,000 trillion 12 zeros

So, everyone would be well hydrated. But, for how long? At 6-8 quarts per day for folks to drink, my math inquiries don’t want to think how to calculate that answer.

Aha! Search assistant.

How many days can 390 million people survive on 27 trillion quarts of water?

7.5 days (with less than 6/8 quarts per day)

How useful is the information we wonder about on a sunny afternoon? It isn’t as much about the usefulness as it is the experience. Wondering, pondering, exploring what ifs are good mental exercises. Our brains enjoys figuring things out. Easy or difficult, the terrain of questions is our own doing. We can go easy or have a muddy slosh wearing sandals. 

I for one, will lean away from questions that may involve math.

 

Guess who snuck out of the house

Mid afternoon sunlight

Upstate New York
Crown Point Historic Area
Lake Champlain
Adirondack Mountains

 I had a coffee from Dunkin. I figured by the time I arrived at Fort St Frederic, it would be cool enough to drink. 😎

It was.

The long weekend

An unusually long line of rush hour traffic surprises me yesterday. I’m not usually doing errands that time of day. The bank clerk mentions a long weekend. Huh? Why? What weekend?

Indigenous Day, 12 October 2026, banks closed, no mail delivery. This weekend is also the peak foliage leaf peeper weekend. Folks will be all over the place. 

Except for me. I’m staying home, no foliage tours. My nest needs a lot of attention. There are enough projects to keep me busy. 

It is time to stack up winter projects and to create a cold weather reading list. 

I ask myself what do I want my winter to be?

The ideal is on a sunny beach. In reality, sledding is a must. Fiber arts, crochet, knit, sew will be weaving through the days. Use up found objects. My new small circular saw will be a big help in that regard. I like a hand saw, but it doesn’t have the accuracy needed to cut frames and hardboard.  And, Lots of painting is a huge goal this winter.

Are you preparing for winter?

Autumn 2026

Tip of the day:

Don’t apply nail polish in dim light.