It’s rare that I can sneakVermont into a discussion about technology, but today I have the perfect excuse! In today’s Barre Montpelier Times Argus (originally in the New York Times) I read an article called Podcast for your leaf-peeping?. Yankee Magazine has created weekly podcasts about the foliage, including foliage forecasts, music, narrated driving tours of New England, and leaf-peeping etiquette. They’re actually really good podcasts, full of interesting history and insights.
I think it’s so cool that podcasting has become mainstream enough to become part of a pastime that is decidedly un-hip.
Actually, a whole host of websites (with varrying degrees of technolust) have sprung up around the fall foliage in New England:
The podcasts are just the latest digital twist on the annual leaf frenzy. In the last few years, scores of Web sites have sprung up, loaded with bells and whistles intended to help travelers pinpoint the elusive and mercurial peak with nearly the same attention given to tracking hurricanes. There are blogs recounting foliage trips, interactive maps that morph from green to red based on historical data, even satellite-guided tours that can be downloaded to a GPS-enabled device, so that particularly colorful drives can be retraced. Other sites like LeafPeepers.com amass Web cams that beam real-time images of treetops as they turn color.
I’ve lived in New Jersey and Connecticut, and I can say without hesitation that the foliage in Vermont is the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. The trees could not be more bright if they were on fire. On Friday I could hardly concentrate on my work as I couldn’t take my eyes off the bright red, organge and yellow mountain outside my office window. I can see why people come here from all over the world to see the foliage. Definitely a treat for the eyes.
I still can’t believe I’m allowed to live here. When I think of all the horrible places I applied for jobs, I’m amazed that I ended up in a place that fits me and Adam like a glove. I’ve never been so comfortable and happy any place else. But ask me how lucky I feel in three months and you may get a different story. đ
I wish we had a good hillside at which to point our webcam, but while we are still in our flat and looking for our own place/land we don’t have many options for webcam sources. Pictures still don’t do justice to what we are lucky enough to see everyday. Sarah and I say the same thing about how lucky we are to be here, Mer. đ