The next morning, we head west past the north shore of Lake Willoughby and toward the village of Barton. We arrive at May Pond just as day breaks; it’s another misty, overcast morning, and aside from a momentary bloom of violet clouds, sunrise is muted yet again. I focus on shooting the far shore’s foliage with my long lens, along with some peaceful intimates near the pond’s outlet. There is a fine drizzle in the air as we leave the pond and pass through Barton. Driving south, we follow the highway past Crystal Lake to Wheeler Mountain Road, a fine dirt road that winds up through the forest to the marshy edge of Wheeler Pond. We take a selfie here, and I attach my CPL to dampen the reflected light glinting off the surface of the pond’s lily pads and other vegetation. On our way down the mountain, we stop in a dirt turnoff so that I can shoot into one of the most beautiful woodland scenes I can ever remember seeing, the canopy glowing brightly with a full pallette of golden-orange maple, elm, and birch leaves.
Further east, we make a brief stop on the shore of Bean Pond before continuing down the highway toward Lyndonville. We decide to take a detour south to the village of Sutton. Winding along the backroads and dairy farms on Pudding Hill, we catch fanstatic scenes of cows at pasture, distant hillsides in the mist, and dirt roads lined by majestic golden trees. We reach Lyndonville in the mid-morning; the local bookstore is, unfortunately for me, closed, but we stop at the Freighthouse Market and Cafe to eat brunch (bagel breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and smoothie) and browse the candle store upstairs. I shoot the colorful maple tree in the yard outside the farmhouse before we return to the car, driving the short distance back to Lake Willoughby and our cabin in Westmore. With rain clouds blowing in from the west, we spend the mid-day relaxing at home; Jane takes a nap while I take a timelapse of Mount Hor over Lake Willoughby, and walk a ways down to road to spend some time with the local dairy cows.
After a restful early afternoon, we head back out to shoot golden hour on the shores of Lake Willoughby and Long Pond. We initially stop by the Willoughby Lake Store hoping to find a maple cremee (unfortunately, we find, these ubiquitous frozen Vermont treats are only available during the summer). On Long Pond Road, we take a brief walk into the golden forest at the Mt. Pisgah trailhead before proceeding back to the Long Pond boat launch. I shoot a series of timelapses here as the storm clouds blow across the hills to the south. Eventually, rain drops begin to speckle the surface of pond. This peaceful scene transforms into a downpour a few minutes later; we beat a hasty retreat back down to Lake Willoughby, where sunset is in full swing. We shoot the dramatic, cloud-strewn skies from the lake’s boat access, before returning to the cabin for our final night in Westmore. In the evening, we spend don our outer layers and do some constellation-watching in the backyard. Unable to sleep that night, I watch the cloud inversion flowing down and over Lake Willoughby under the light of full autumn moon, grateful to have more waking hours in this beautiful place.
