When did it become popular? When did local news programs (usually the weather portion) begin showing maps that had swaths of colour representing what part of New England was experiencing “peak colour” of Autumn?
I don’t remember this being talked about when I was a kid. But then again there were other things we didn’t talk about either.
Somewhere this phenomenon has crept into my awareness. Folks actually plan vacations to travel to areas so they can appreciate “peak colour”. Think about this for a minute. This is not going to a destination to play rounds of golf… not going to a location known for great tennis courts… someplace where the fishing is spectacular, the mountains slopes thrilling, a cluster of theme parks to delight any family… not going to a city packed with shopping and cultural opportunities.
No… none of that.
This is going to a place where the very journey is the reward… it is the canopied hilly lane or the sweeping vista seen from the banked interstate. Take the drive, ride a bike or walk… it is the journey itself.
Folks who do this are called “leaf peepers”. Charming nick-name.
I have favorite roads to take this activity in. There is no secret in this… they are favorite stretches of road at anytime of the year. I love them for their intimacy, or their sense of space and breadth of view. I adore I-91 north of Northampton. I love I-84 East of Newtown. I love Route 4 west of Goshen.
But this “peak colour” stuff is becoming a bit vexing. It has proved an elusive quarry. You drive around and some things look good but not “ready”… other parts look like you missed it by 48 hours.
I guess it was a couple of years ago when I traveled north to visit Shaina that I began to see something else. The time was “past peak”. The vibrancy of colours had faded to muted tones. Gone were the hillsides bathed in bold yellows, oranges and reds… colours that would gleam in the bright path of the sun. The obvious was being replaced by the subtle. Now the colours took on a more seductive tone… ochre, rust, cinnamon, gold & sepia… and then treat of treats… a solitary tree set aflame in dazzling red or a tree in a perfect lemon yellow cast against neighbors of evergreen.
It struck me again on Sunday as I made my way towards the bridge that crosses the Housatonic on the Newtown-Southbury line… that I preferred the rustic images and dustier tones of earth to the electrifying “peak shades”. And yes, there was the occasional tree that still blistered with its shocking red… all the more bright and treasured for its comparison to its more sombre company.
“Past Peak?” Well, I guess I’m not buying it. I see it as a “new peak”. And did I ever tell you how much I adore a stand of bare birch trees against a grey winter sky? Or a hillside coated with the faint green of tender budding trees? Or the morning sun breaking thru the lush green in a wooded glen?
Exciting to think about… each step along the journey bringing the next “new peak”.