A Fall Foliage Tour Day in Connecticut's Quiet Corner

Me? Fall Foliage is my favorite season, and I’m also attracted to reading nooks, sheltered coves, tucked-away hideouts and serene places like “Connecticut’s Quiet Corner.”

So this morning when the weather promised to be fair and the day spread out before us with no commitments, we set ourselves free to explore. No agenda, no itinerary, no hurry. What a life!
Here’s a salute to the places and people we stumbled upon, which/who made today into a day to treasure.
Thank you, earth and sky, for your breathtaking, heart-calming beauty.
IMG_0055
Thank you, Charlene’s Diner, Jewett City, Connecticut. (click here for their Facebook page), for the best breakfast we’ve had in a long, long time,
IMG_0045
served up on warm plates (why doesn’t everyone do this?!!!) by a trio of professional and friendly sister-servers. What more need I say than, they do everything right, and you can’t beat the prices.

One look at these lovely, obviously genetically-linked friendly faces will make you realize we're not talking about nuns, these three are bonafide sisters!
One look at these lovely, obviously genetically-linked friendly faces will make you realize we’re not talking about nuns, these three are bonafide sisters!

Thank you, Scenic Route 169, for being so quintessentially, idyllically, picturesque.
IMG_0062
Thank you, Richard Auger and Linda Auger (at Taylor Brooke Winery) for your anti-snobby and yet classy, welcoming hospitality. We thank you for your well-organized, fun and informative wine tasting (2 samples are free; you can get 8 samples for $5, or $13 for $8 — definitely worth making the trip!) We found the wines enjoyable and brought home a bottle of Traminette, which promises to pair nicely with a spicy Indian curry (not the easiest of dishes to marry a wine to).
Taylor Brook tasting room
Taylor Brooke tasting room

Richard Auger, winemaker
Richard Auger, winemaker (Taylor Brooke)

And look, the setting is gorgeous.
Taylor Brook Vineyards, CT
And thank you, town of Putnam, Connecticut, for being the exactly right kind of place to stop for a late lunch and a stroll through the galleries and shops.
IMG_0080
Thank you Silver Circle Gallery, for featuring very talented local artists (at affordable prices!!), and being a wonderful place in which to play art gallery games.
IMG_0077
We played the “mind-reading” game, and discovered that we both had fallen in love with the same small beautiful painting of boats. (I’m thinking I’ll have to sneak back there, to buy it for Ken for Christmas… shhh).
If you’re an art lover, and are anywhere near Putnam, I advise you to visit. I’ve rarely been this impressed by a gallery; therefore I’m naming Silver Circle Gallery “Tracy Lee Karner’s favorite small art gallery in New England”. 
More views of Putnam:
IMG_0084
IMG_0086IMG_0108
So what did you do this weekend, and did it, in any way, involve a unicycle? 
 
 
 

39 thoughts on “A Fall Foliage Tour Day in Connecticut's Quiet Corner”

  1. Tracy, this is one of your many special adventures you provide that make me so very glad we’re friends and I can tag along via your post.
    The pictures and corresponding details are superb, but the crowning glory is your specific gratitude for each person, place, thing, and each taste and smell and smile and sound that made your experience special.
    I’m also still smiling at comments like the one about the sisters…who are obviously not nuns, but sisters. 😉

    1. Oh, Marylin — life has been so strangely hectic these past few weeks (and I’m so grateful it’s finally settling down). I feel like I’ve been away from WP for a long, long time, and missing all my friends, especially you. I’m hoping that tomorrow, and this next week, I’ll have time to catch up on everyone else’s posts. I really was grateful for this day; it was indeed a holiday, in the true sense of the word, I felt blessed, and I needed that. 🙂
      (I can always count on you to notice such things…)

  2. Tracy … Thank you for sharing the gorgeous bucolic country scenes, and delightful places to hang out, eat at and enjoy artwork. I would be driving impaired if I took advantage of their drinking specials. Wowzer!
    Our grands visited us and we had a delightful jam-packed weekend. We ate at a restaurant that overlooks the ocean, saw two treasure museums, and visited the Exploration at Port Canaveral. They made me realize how much our area has to offer in the way of attractions unrelated to Disney World, Universal and Sea World. 😉

    1. I certainly wouldn’t advise DRINKING 8 glasses of wine. If a person samples, and drinks, all 13, it adds up to 1 glass. But Ken only sampled 2 (that’s 2 tiny sips), and I sampled 8, most of which I didn’t swallow.
      For the record, I would never, ever drive impaired.
      And you do live in a wonderfully jam-packed-with-attractions place. I’m still trying to figure out a way to visit you. I just wish it wasn’t so far away from New England. 🙂

      1. Tracy … My reference point for sampling wines is in the Watkins Glen area. I had 2 samples and felt I needed to stop right there. I’m sure those places make sure that the samplers drink responsibly.
        I do hope you get a chance to visit this area and I would love to have you visit. 😉

  3. That sounds like the best Fall Saturday ever! What a fun idea to just drive and see what you come across.
    This morning I had breakfast with my book club buddies. Tonight I watched a movie with my husband, then bantered with my friends on wordpress. Tomorrow I’m having friends over for a wine tasting. But all the in between time has and will be filled in with chores and errands. Still, it’s a good week-end…so far.

    1. It does sound like a good weekend. Sometimes there is great satisfaction in crossing chores and errands off the list. How lovely, that you’re able to intersperse them with fun-and-relaxing stuff.
      And for the record–it was the best Fall Saturday ever. I posted it so I can look back and remember….

  4. Your day sounds like the best kind of days that are truly relaxing. Thank you for the tour! Our leaves have for the most part already fallen but have had a lovely fall and are now making our way into winter as the air temperature is often at freezing.

    1. I think this is the last weekend, in that region, of leaves-on-the-trees. Quite a few had fallen and were falling. I could have spend the whole time taking pictures, but didn’t, because sometimes the camera gets in the way of my simple enjoyment. I still have a vision in my mind of a small brook, crossed by a little wooden foot-bridge (with picturesque rails) under a huge maple tree, and the ground covered with a mosaic of freshly-fallen red/orange/yellow leaves. Sometimes the leaves on the ground are as stunning as the leaves on the tree.
      Wishing you a beautiful, love-filled, candlelit winter. 🙂

  5. Enjoyed my day out with you, Tracy. I remember the mind game from a previous post. I’ve often played it or some of it by myself as I mooch around a gallery.
    Your first photo looks just like the scenery we might see here in either Devon or Wales. Beautiful!

    1. As much as I love autumn, there is that melancholy feeling of something coming to an end.
      But, I’ve been told I have the melancholic temperament of an artist, at times. Luckily for me, it only surfaces for brief moments of poetic musing.

  6. Wonderful post, and makes me appreciate even more how close I am to the Quiet Corner! I, too, am a huge fan of Silver Circle and the way Carly supports local artists (like me!). Next time, be sure to take in the huge Arts and Crafts Show at Roseland Cottage in Woodstock – it’s this same weekend every year, and it’s amazing!

    1. Thanks, Dot. I’ll put the Arts and Crafts show on my calendar for next year. And I’ll look for your art the next time I’m in the Silver Circle.
      And thanks for stopping by my blog. 🙂

    1. It’s a stretch for me to venture out without an itinerary. I’m not generally comfortable with not having a plan. But, I felt the spirit of the moment was right to just “let go.” I did, however, have a map!

  7. What a lovely day you shared with us all. You certainly brought all the stops on your tour to life. Me? I spent it in-doors meetings of our diocesan synod. The best part was being part of table discussions with some lovely, interesting people. But this week we will enjoy the last of warm weather and go to the cabin and rake leaves. The fallen tidying up the fallen 🙂

  8. It sounds like you had an absolutely wonderful fall weekend, Tracy! Charlene’s diner looks like a wonderful place for brunch. Fall is my favorite season as well- the colors are just magnificent. Matt and I went on a lovely fall walk this weekend to take in some of the beautiful leaves before the wind blows them all away!

    1. That’s the thing about wind and time — they take everything we love, and cause them to blow away / move on. Carpe Diem! I’m glad you had time to walk with Matt this past weekend.
      Looking forward to hearing more about your honeymoon.

  9. Beautiful views, lots of character and gratitude and I love how you introduce the post with all those cosy sounding nooks and hideaways. This weekend we went to a friend’s surprise 50th birthday in an inn in a small Northumbrian village. Next day, a cooked breakfast in the pub, a walk with dogs on a windswept beach, then relaxing in pjs for the rest of the day 🙂

    1. Oooh, now there’s a good idea. It’s been way too long since I’ve relaxed in my pi’s. I’m going to change into my comfies this evening and turn on a movie (it’s been Monday all day long!) 😉
      Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂

  10. What a perfect autumn day out this was Tracy. I know that a day with no itinerary, no commitments, no plans is something few and far between so when it happens it is a true luxury. Love how you took the time to stop and thank everyone you met along the way and those views are beautiful…I would say they could be close to home here for the similarity 😉 I really enjoyed this walk with you through your neighbourhood and so glad that you got to relax and unwind. Happy Autumn to you Tracy 🙂

    1. How lovely that you were able to “join” us, Sherri. Isn’t the blogosphere great?
      It made me smile, to think that we were, in a way, taking this little journey together.
      Wishing you a Happy Autumn, also. <3

  11. Hello Tracy, I have been off-line for a few weeks and I missed some of your posts on the alphabet, which are now closed to comments. I just read ‘letting-go’ and ‘moderation’ and they are excellent. I especially loved the list for the things to take in moderation. It is brilliant and really made me think. .

  12. We haven’t been to Putnam and that area of Connecticut in years. It is too late for us to see good fall color but spring is another nice time to visit the quiet corner. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Marylin Warner Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *