Soon, Soon...

Ah, the beauty of Vermont's foliage.  Every morning it is such a treat to look out the window, gaze out at the multi-colored trees that are right outside my window and wonder, when the hell all these people are going to leave so that I can go play? 

Foliage in Vermont

For a ski bum, the foliage season means working until you're too exhausted to even go outside.  First, we have the leaf peepers, an extraordinary group of people that really do not belong in Vermont.  Although they have the most fascinating stories to tell and revel in just looking at our beautiful scenery, they do not understand our way of life.  They react in horror to tales of walking up the mountain, rarely offer gratuity above fifteen percent and constantly complain about the cold weather.  You are in Vermont, people!  Instead of trying to participate in our way of life, they park on the side of the road with their cameras and take pictures from inside the car!  It's almost like they feel death upon them if they left the safe confines of their vehicle. 

But now the Columbus Day Weekend is upon us, marking the end of the great foliage exodus.  Now, all the weekend skiers come up to clash with the leaf peepers.  They come with all their corporate money saved up to spend on this year's brand new gear and equipment that ski bums could only dream of.  But at least the weekenders bring dreams of the heavy snowfalls and powder days that are not so far in the future.  Yet they too serve as a reminder of the life left behind, the narrowness of the escape, the money and stress that could have been.

 Soon, all these city folk will return to their skyline apartments and McMansions, housekeeping and trying to figure out what Vermonters could possibly do up here all summer long. Soon, they will leave us in peace to once again enjoy the peace and quiet of our Vermont foliage - even if it is all over the ground and no longer on the trees.  Vespi will be able to run around off lead without worrying about the possibility of giving some blue-haired Brooklyn-ite a heart attack or having some Minnesota Baby Boomer gush over her for thirty minutes.   Soon, the leaves will fall from their branches and cover the ground with beautiful yet fading colors, reminding the tourists that nothing is perfect for long.   Soon, I will have the energy to head out into the woods and play, rather than having to rest all day to make it through my shift tonight.  Soon twig season will arrive and peace will return to the Green Mountains of Vermont.