Oct 13 2025
Fall Foliage and the Drought
The fall foliage is reaching peak here in the Champlain Valley. The color isn’t too bad, but it’s muted this year. That’s because of the ongoing drought in New England. The rivers and streams are as low as I’ve ever seen them, the earth is parched, and the trees are stressed as a result. A lot of them have browned out and have dropped their leaves prematurely.
Judy and I went for a ride into the mountains about ten days ago, up through Ap Gap and over to Highway 100. Judy took some photos, but none of them were keepers. The foliage was underwhelming to say the least.
The hikes I’ve done here in the Champlain Valley since then haven’t been much better, though I did see some pretty good color today, banging around in the local town forest. A light rain fell as I hiked and, I must admit, I was more excited about that than I was the foliage. We need rain –– a lot more of it.
I don’t like it. Can’t imagine how people live with the dryness out west. Here in the northeast, one expects a certain lushness predicated by moisture. The northern forest is usually wet, especially in its lowlands and hollows. One of the reasons I live here is because moss, ferns, ponds and ephemeral streams are commonplace.
The drought will end soon we Yankees keep telling ourselves. It’s not normal. Then again, what is these days? We’ve seen two hundred-year floods during the past fifteen years, a lot more temps in the 90s than usual, and winters aren’t as snowy as they used to be. I’m trying not to worry. Today’s foliage is nice, but we need a good soaking rain –– ideally a couple weeks of it. Fingers crossed.
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