Ackislander

My wife and I drove up I 93 yesterday to Manchester, NH, to visit the Currier Museum of Art and tour the Zimmerman House, a Wright Usonian house that the museum owns. The museum is small but choice if you like New England art, and the house is in spectacular condition since the Zimmermans left an endowment to care for it.

We saw one lone swamp maple just south of Andover blazing away in all its glory.

So, mid-September is too early for leaf peeping, folks , though we did have spectacular thunder and lightning, worthy of Lubbock, Texas.

dfrostnh

It's time to check the swamp maples. They turn early. Thanks for the reminder. There's a small brook I cross when I head to Concord NH. It opens into a swampy area.

A lot of trees are getting that yellowish tinge as the green fades. Looks to me like color might be a little early this year.

Ackislander

Yes, dh. I am on the Nantucket ferry at the moment. As we drove down Route 3 from Boston to Hyannis, we saw half a dozen swamp maples nicely red and some poplars turning yellow. Is it a trend? Stay tuned

dfrostnh

One thing never mentioned is how pretty the grasses and shrubs are right now. Sumac berries are rich red, some stands have foliage already red. Really hate to see how pretty Japanese knotweed is right now with lacy white flowers since it's a terrible, invasive shrub.

Lucky us who live here have some favorite viewing vantage spots. Not much color yet but it's getting ready. I can never tell when it's peak but a friend who used to have a camp up north said one cold night and next day it would be peak.

DonTopaz

The Zimmerman house is a jewel. It sits in a perfectly undistinguished neighborhood, one that you might see in any suburb-like setting in any part of the country. And the house itself is one that you'd pass by without noticing that, in fact, everything is special.

By which I mean that every last element of the place is noteworthy, from the entrance to the furnishings to the heating system to the very way that the house is positioned on the lot. I don't think I'd have enjoyed living there -- I'd probably have tried to smuggle in a comfortable chair in the middle of the night -- but it's impossible not to be fascinated by Wright's mind and his approach to designing a home.

The Zimmerman house is a wonderful place to visit. It takes a bit of planning, by reserving in advance, through the Currier (www.currier.org ), and it's well worth the effort.