For foliage views times two, put your canoe or kayak in at the state-owned boat access on Powers Lake in East Lyme, Connecticut. It’s close to major population centers but offers one big surprise: This 152-acre lake is undeveloped except for a Yale University retreat center. The untouched shoreline is edged by a diversity of […]
That’s right… No one ever said the only way to see color was from eye level. Get the birds’ perspective: Go hot-air ballooning, skydiving, paragliding, or flying. In western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, climb into a wicker gondola with Paul Sena (413-238-5514; worthingtonballooning.com), or jump from an airplane with Dave Strickland (800-444-5867, 413-586-1889; airborne-adventures.com).
Fall is also harvest time — that time of year when we visit New England’s apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes. Maybe best of all are the county and state fairs that celebrate the season’s bounty. This year, check out the 189th Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, Massachusetts (888-781-3247, 978-887-5000; topsfieldfair.org). America’s oldest continually operating […]
Jewelry maker Michael Michaud of Fairfield, Connecticut, has designed a collection called Falling Leaves, featuring maple, oak, and hawthorn. Each piece is molded from an original leaf found in nature and then cast in bronze. Prices $40-$125. To find a local gallery or retailer, call 800-295-6784; fourseasonsdesigngroup.com
Vermont’s four-mile River Road is a don’t-miss. This dirt byway parallels the Ottauquechee River between Woodstock and Quechee — perfect for an afternoon outing. Often, you’re so close to the water it feels as if you’re on a boat. See fish rising and swallows swooping. Look for the old cemetery, the covered bridge, and the […]
Try the season’s apple cider — celebrate Cider Day in western Massachusetts’ Franklin County (413-773-5463; ciderday.org). Or, look for fall ales, on tap or bottled. Two popular brews made in New England are Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (Maine) and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (New Hampshire).
Yum — candy apples at Jaswell’s Farm (401-231-9043; jaswellsfarm.com) in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It’s right in the heart of “apple country” and has made these crunchy delights a specialty. Eight choices, including traditional cherry-red candy-coated, caramel fruits, and blue raspberry candy-coated.
If I had the grace of autumn / then I’d know just what to do / I’d hold on ’til the time was right / and let go with brilliant hues. — “Autumn,” from the album The Harvest by Colrain, Massachusetts-based singer/songwriter Erica Wheeler
Capture fall color forever with a Stillwood Pottery piece. Kassie Hennessey shapes and glazes terra-cotta clay to look like oversize leaves. Each one is beautiful as a tabletop decoration — with or without a tea light candle — or as a soap dish or change tray. Prices $8.50-$85. Made in Orono, Maine. 207-947-3765; stillwoodpottery.com
Capture fall in a pottery or bronze leaf, a candied apple, a Cider Day brew. Take a drive, take a hike, or take a balloon ride. Paddle a canoe or kayak. Pick a pumpkin. It’s autumn in New England.
Nothing eats away at a family’s mealtime together like children’s sports. Everywhere parents hustle from practices to games — often one season merging into the next without a break — all the while hoping their kids will grab a bite while tugging on their uniforms. The Malpiedes and the Lynches of Needham, Massachusetts, know about […]
Lisa Saffer is a 47-year-old diva. She received her master’s degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music in 1984, and today makes her home in Portland, Maine. In the great opera houses and concert halls of the world, she sings in many languages, her small frame launching glorious sounds that reach to the farthest […]
