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It’s fall in Maine, that time of year when it’s perfectly acceptable to peep – at the autumn leaves, of course. During the short weeks from late September to mid-October, leaf peepers enjoy the foliage, taking advantage of the beautiful scenery every way they can.
“Autumn creeps up on you like an apple just starting to turn,” said David Merrill, a third-year sustainable agriculture student. “Before you know it, the edges of everything are glowing. It’s like a payoff for the rest of the year: It’s not too cold or muddy or buggy.
“We’re lucky to live in an environment where, for three weeks out of the year, the color and balance of the landscape shifts.”
Krista Ricupero, a first-year graduate student, has made it a point to celebrate autumn by collecting leaves and using them to decorate her home.
“Last fall, I moved to Talmar Woods and I wanted something cheap and easy to decorate with,” Ricupero said. This year, Ricupero decided to display the cycle of colors a sugar maple leaf goes through – green, yellow, orange and finally, red. “Sugar maples especially have a beautiful set of colors. Oaks just don’t compare,” she said. Ricupero and her daughter, Anna, collect leaves from a specific sugar maple near Fernald Hall. They appreciate the leaves for being “pretty, inexpensive and biodegradable.”
“Additionally, since fall is my favorite time of year, I have a constant reminder of the season at home,” Ricupero said.
Ricupero isn’t UMaine’s only leaf-lover with an autumnal tradition.
On a clear Sunday morning about two weeks ago, Edward Fontaine, a fourth-year new media student, decided to take a scenic drive on his motorcycle to enjoy the foliage. He started his journey at 8:30 a.m. from his hometown of Mexico, Maine. From there, he drove to Rumford Point and on to Grafton Notch State Park, part of the Appalachian Trail located between Newry and Upton, Maine.
“It’s a giant route only someone from there would know,” Fontaine said. “I think it’s the most beautiful part of Maine. Bangor is really flat compared to there, so it was nice to get out and see the fall colors.”
By taking a weekend road trip, hiking a mountain or just stepping out into the backyard, people experience this season and take time to appreciate the leaves in their own way.
“I’m a big leaf peeper,” said Angela Cyr, a fourth-year secondary English education student. “I climbed Acadia National Park two weekends ago. I was so picture-happy that day. I took pictures of everything,” she said. “I’ve seen that view a billion different times, but it looks like an entirely different place this time of year. My fiancee and I have made this hike a new yearly tradition.”
Talking about her newfound tradition with her fiancee made Cyr recall the fall traditions she had with her family when she was a child. Her parents would take her and her older brother for a long drive in the area near their Auburn home for the sole purpose of glimpsing some foliage.
“My older brother and I would also play games,” she said. “There were these two huge oak trees in our backyard and we would try to catch falling leaves in hats. Different colored leaves would be worth different points.”
With the lazy summer days long gone and winter fast approaching, autumn and all its colors is a tremendous contrast from the summer’s greens and winter’s drab whites and grays. Fall in New England is when trees radiate before going naked for the coming months.
The foliage and cooling air also provide inspiration to songwriters and poets. “Folk music and poetry of New England has a really rich bounty of songs and poems about autumn,” Merrill said. “Take, for instance, one song called ‘Autumn,’ by David Mallett, or another song titled ‘Autumn,’ by Erica Wheeler. These are modern homages to the season,” he said.
According to mainefoliage.com, the state is broken up into seven different zones. Orono is located between zones three and four. As of right now, the Orono area is just past its peak foliage time. The northern and western parts of the state have already experienced the ideal foliage period.
Even with the colors past their peak, there are still delights to be had from the remaining weeks of fall. “There’s a subtle pleasure in the last bit [of autumn]. As it goes on, there aren’t many leaves left. You see a skeleton over the landscape, but every so often, there will be a bright yellow splash of color. I think that part is almost my favorite,” Merrill explained.
Although fall will soon come to a close, rest assured that leaf peepers aren’t going anywhere. As long as the leaves keep changing, the peepers will keep peeping.
Bangor Daily News