SUMMER is almost done and dusted.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Autumn is just around the corner and totally bang on time for Friday night drinks.
Fri-yay! Fri-nally!! FebFasters will rejoice to see the back end of the month.
Having given up alcohol for 28 days, I swear I've never had so much coffee and sugar, though never together. My immune system tripped up badly mid-month with a head cold, no doubt due to my out-of-character sugar spike and the lack of red wine with dinner.
Now it's time to get back on track for autumn!
The Border and North East put on one of the best autumnal displays of anywhere in the world.
While international tourists travel far and wide looking for the perfect "leaf-peeping" locations, we're knee-deep in them for weeks. (The leaves from the trees, not so much the international tourists.)
Leaf-peeping is the quaint term used throughout the US and Canada for the activity in which people travel to view and photograph the "fall foliage" in areas where leaves change colours in autumn, particularly in northern New England and the upper Midwest.
An organised excursion for leaf-peeping is called a "foliage tour".
A similar custom in Japan is called "momijigari".
The term "leaf-peeper" is used both with appreciation (for those businesses that benefit from the millions that pour into the higher elevations of the West, upper Midwest and northern New England each autumn) and with disdain (from those who have to use the roads that are popular with leaf-peepers).
Hobbyists who get together for leaf-peeping commonly refer to their gatherings as leaf peepshows. Why not? It's good, clean fun with nothing to lose except only your footing if you slip in the sodden leaves.
I want to be a leaf-peeper when I grow up but for now I will be happy to make do with driving up Mount Street in East Albury on late autumn afternoons.
MORE LIKE THIS:
There's a lot to love about living on the Border in autumn:
- We get all four seasons, each with its own charm. Autumn, however, is like Baby Bear's porridge; it's not too hot or too cold, it's just right! We are also sitting pretty when it comes to watching the leaves change colour on many deciduous trees.
- Wine festivals are go. Tastes of Rutherglen is a popular progressive dinner party on the Labour Day long weekend. Nineteen wineries team up with Border and North East chefs to deliver magic menus matched to wonderful wines. This year there is a discount for Border and North East residents for the first time. Here's cheers to that! If beer is more your sport, the High Country Hops Festival returns to Beechworth on March 30 and 31. Need more altitude even still? The first Alpine Producers Festival Feast is coming to Gapsted Wines on March 8.
- Warm up to HotHouse Theatre in autumn. The Butter Factory Theatre will present Garry Starr Performs Everything (March 19-23); Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit (March 22-23); and Animal Farm (May 7-10), which will set the tone for the rest of the epic season. We are beyond lucky to have this calibre of theatre in our own back yard.
- Football. AFL, local and little leagues kick off during autumn.
- Chilly nights can only mean one thing, right? … guilt-free Netflix bingeing!
- Easter in autumn is the perfect long weekend to reconnect with family and friends. Camping grounds and rivers; we have the best of them!
- Get your garden set up for a productive spring. Now that the sun has lost its sting, it's high time to pull out some weeds.
- Stand down from the pinot grigio and the prosecco, it's the season for Rutherglen's reds and the High Country's Italian varietals. Book lunch in a winery to sort out your favourites.
Don't despair, however, if raking up leaves is not really your thing.
While international tourists travel far and wide looking for the perfect 'leaf-peeping' locations, we're knee-deep in them for weeks. The leaves from the trees, not so much the international tourists.
It will be au revoir autumn before you even know it!
To get news from across the Border straight into your inbox, sign up here.
