Two weeks each year the sugar maples and oaks do an unbelievable metamorphosis as fall turns to winter. This is Hadley, Massachusetts, and the mountains of the Mt. Holyoke range rise in the near distance.

I took my paintings along, as it has been several years since I was able to visit during this colorful time, and I wanted to see what I could record of the colors. It was a fun visit with both my sisters and brother in law.

We walked the dike in Hadley which keeps the Connecticut River from flooding the town in times of heavy rain. After the walk, we drove to the Summit House atop My Holyoke. The grand views from the mountaintop revealed large patches of crimson and gold. Later, I painted from Mitch’s Marina along its banks. The nice man let me set up on his property to paint. I decided not to paint the boats at the dock as owners were arriving to pull their crafts out for the coming winter. (And I’ve begun paintings of boats only to have them lift anchor and sail off before I was done!) It was fun to get recharged with that color pallet.

During the week in Hadley, we watched the color become more dramatic each day. Much of our time, the temperature was 10 – 20 degrees above normal, making my plein air efforts very pleasant. I’m now working to refine my small paintings back home in my Soquel Studio.