Maine Foliage Report October 2012

The latest Maine Foliage Report has just been released by the Maine Department of Conservation. It's funny how Columbus Day always seems to bring about peak foliage, although I will say that in my neighborhood in Bangor, most of the leaves haven't really changed, and we have had very little leaf drop.

If you're lucky to have Columbus Day off, you owe it to yourself to take a drive and appreciate the beauty of Maine. I'm driving down Friday night to Bar Harbor to broadcast the MDI - Nokomis Football game, and weather permitting, I'll take a few pictures and post them of the foliage in the area. When I was down there on Tuesday, I snapped a great picture of 20-25 turkeys grazing in a field on the side of the road. You can see it below.

Here's the latest foliage report:

Peak foliage color has reached Maine's western lakes and mountains region, and the upper Kennebec and Penobscot River valleys, according to the fourth 2012 Fall Foliage Report from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Currently, Maine Forest Service and state park rangers are reporting peak, or at least 75 percent, color change in the western tracking zone (Zone 5) that stretches from Greenville to Bethel, and includes Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley, Grafton Notch State Park and Mt. Blue State Park. Rangers expect color change to continue into next week, and report that leaf drop in the locations is low, or 10-30 percent overall.
Peak color and low leaf drop are also being reported in the northeastern tracking zone (Zone 4) covering Houlton, Millinocket, the Lincoln Lakes region and Route 9 to Calais, as well as the central tracking zone (northern Zone 3) that includes Dover-Foxcroft, Newport and Bangor.
"Travelers with plans to visit Maine over the Columbus Day weekend or the following weekend will see plenty of vibrant colors in the regions that are currently reporting peak color change," said Maine fall foliage spokeswoman Gale Ross. "The contrasting colors in the tree canopy and landscapes are magnificent."
Rangers in Aroostook County (Zone 7 and 6) are reporting peak leaf color for the second consecutive week, and low leaf drop.
High leaf color, from 50-70 percent toward peak, has reached all coastal communities from Kittery to Eastport (Zone 1 and 2), and central and southwest regions from Augusta to Auburn, Sebago Lake and Fryeburg (southern Zone 3), according to rangers. Leaf drop is low in these regions.
Overnight temperatures in the 40s and the continued decrease in daylight will spark the gradual change in leaf color from north to south through late October, according to the report.

For the full report visit http://www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/report/index.shtml

Here are the turkeys