Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.  Autumn in New England this year was as spectacular as ever, but quite different from last year, when cool, wet weather throughout the summer seemed to bring the color early.  This summer was hotter and drier, and the color seemed to emerge at odd times in odd patches.  Fortunately, the trip I took this late September day into northern New Hampshire turned out well photographically.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.  As with the first photograph on this page, the sun was out for a short while after sunrise, hence the glow of tree color; it then disappeared behind clouds for the rest of the day.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Thirteen Mile Woods, New Hampshire.

Further north, near Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  This is one of my favorite shots, because of its almost impressionistic look.  This was taken from a road pull-off where a lot of construction was taking place just below the photograph.

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  The sharp mountains here made for some rather dramatic autumn photographs.

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  Before this trip, the only thing I knew about Dixville Notch was that the community is the first in the country to vote in a presidential election, at the stroke of midnight on election day.  So I was surprised to come upon this grand resort hotel here.

Golf course at The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  There’s tennis, swimming, and kayaking too for warmer times of year, and skiing in winter.

The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  Even on a cloudy day, it’s postcard-perfect in autumn.  I later learned that the golfing, skiing, and dining here have all won accolades in many publications, but by then I had already decided that I was going to come back here for a stay.

Cold Spring at The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  A number of people pulled up in their cars while I was photographing the resort to fill up jugs with the water that flowed through this pretty little structure.

View from the lobby of The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

Entrance to The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  This unexpected visit to the resort was the highlight of my autumn; serendipity is a wonderful thing.

Columbia Bridge, a covered bridge spanning the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont, later the same day.  Not much color here, which was odd, as the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont tends to get their color early.

Further south, though, the color was coming out nicely in Stark, New Hampshire.

Church door in Stark, New Hampshire.

A barn in Stark, completing my day in northern New Hampshire.

Craftsbury, Vermont.  Normally my autumn trips through Vermont turn out quite good for photographs, but this year was difficult.  A number of very severe storms with high winds came through the state one after the other, taking a lot of leaves with them.  Despite that, the various foliage reports on the web remained upbeat and optimistic, to the point of being misleading, claiming peak foliage in areas with few leaves left.  Fortunately, my time in New Hampshire and Massachusetts made up for the days here.

A road in Craftsbury, Vermont, after a storm.

A very large barn in Craftsbury, Vermont. 

Hazen Notch, Vermont, in the very last light of day.

Horse ranch in Peacham, Vermont.

The classic, pastoral, postcard view of Peacham, Vermont.  This, and the close-up shot of the same view in the next shot, are the only Vermont photographs I was truly happy with this year.

Peacham, Vermont. 

Freeport, Maine.  These next few photographs were taken during a trip to the flagship L.L. Bean store.  Once again, the foliage reports were quite wrong, saying that coastal Maine had little color, when actually the entire Maine Turnpike south of here was at peak.

Freeport, Maine. 

Mums in Freeport, Maine.

Freeport, Maine.  The strongest red colors I saw all season were here.

Freeport, Maine.

Jaffrey, New Hampshire.  This little town in the Monadnock Region seems to offer something to photograph every autumn.  This was taken at Cheshire Pond, where my home page photograph of Canada geese was taken years ago.

Jaffrey, New Hampshire.  The better color was away from the pond on this day.  The rest of these pictures were taken near the middle of downtown.

Jaffrey, New Hampshire. 

Jaffrey, New Hampshire. 

Jaffrey, New Hampshire. 

Jaffrey, New Hampshire. 

Jaffrey, New Hampshire.