more Kingsport (Bays Mtn.) photos...

[Tennesseestorm]

Yeah, I have heard that Knoxville is still mostly green as well.. especially in south and southwest Knoxville. I imagine with the recent frosts/freeze in the middle TN area, that the trees will really start to change rapidly now.

Not all of the colors in the Tri-Cities are nice this year. As kamoshika mentioned, its really patchy. Some areas still have green, alot of "brown" dried up trees and then there is the patchy color. The ones posted above in Kingsport are some of the nicest I have seen this year. Here in Bristol, they were really drab.

Originally Posted by BuzzCam

I am from Nashville and did not realize the Tri-Cities had such pretty fall colors this year. I thought the drought would had an effect of the fall leaves this year.

Our trees in Nashville are still green, which is strange being the first week in November.

I have been up to that Fire Tower many times over the years. Your pictures brought back pleasant memories for me.

Thanks for sharing them with us.

Buzz

[Tennesseestorm]

Thanks for that camera info. I have a Kodak ES V530, which is supposed to be a very good camera, but mine does not always turn out that well. I think I am just not good with the settings.

Originally Posted by kamoshika

Thanks, my camera's just an old 2-megapixel Canon PowerShot but Mother Nature's been very cooperative this fall for snapping pics.

I drove up to exit 7 in Bristol this morning and there's still some good color on the hills between there & 11W, though there's a lot more brown than there was last week. If you can make it to Bays Mountain in the next couple of days, you should still see some very nice foliage even though it's several days past peak on the lake.

Overall, the foliage around the Tri-Cities has been very hit or miss and it's varied a great deal even from one hill to the next in some places.

Read earlier this week that the amount of nitrogen in the soil apparently influences the fall display, with nitrogen-poor soil yielding more & deeper reds:
Leaves' Fall Colors Have "Dirty" Secret, Study Finds

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by 12buttons

How does Stamford compare to Bays Mountain and TN? Just curious to know your take on it....New England culture versus TN mountain? pros? Cons? What brought you to CT? Which do you like better? Has CT changed since you moved there? How? Also could you tell me comp wise what a 3200 sq ft colonial 1 acre house would cost in Stamford versus East TN in a comparable city..thanks

The Stamford area is a city of about 120,000 people in Fairfield County, CT. First off, it's bigger in population than Kingsport, but the "feel" is very much smaller. In Stamford, the zoning is very strict in terms of where chain restaurants and stores can locate, so the city has only 2 McDonalds, 1 Burger King, no Wendy's, and 1 Target store. Most of the large stores and franchised stores are downtown--and downtown is undergoing a major revitalization now as well. Kingsport has more fast-food and store chains than Stamford! Funny, huh?
More differences: The city of Stamford is in Fairfield County, which was for years, the most expensive and wealthy county in the United States for housing. It is now ranked second, behind Marin County (outside of San Francisco) in CA. Wealth in and around Stamford is abundant. Many new luxury highrise towers are being built in the downtown area.
Downtown Stamford has a ton of mega-corporations and some are headquartered here too: Purdue Pharma, Phillips, GE, RBS, UBS, Xerox, Pitney-Bowes, WWF, and many, many others. It is a super corporate city.
The geography does not have such high mountains, as does the Kingsport area. The trees and vegetation are about the same as Kingsport, but with small, rolling hills. We are also located on the Long Island Sound, so that affects how much (or little) snowfall we receive when upstate 10 miles has 6 inches--we may only have 1 or 2.
I love CT--it is picturesque and is 45 mins (Stamford) from New York City via car (with light traffic) and 45 mins on the train.
A house that is 3200 sq feet in Stamford would most likely cost an AVERAGE for older homes of $700,000 or so. A brand new home here would cost about $150-200k higher, most likely. But it all depends on exactly where you purchase.

[jjbradleynyc]

Oh yeah, and the culture. The general population is more educated and closer to the largest city in the US, so the arts are prevalent everywhere. Community theater is huge in Fairfield County, as-is the film industry (Hollywood movies and such) as well. There is a HUGE old-school Italian presence in Stamford.
There is a huge community-involvement initiative in Fairfield County too. Like I mentioned before, in a lot of ways it feels much smaller a city, than it actually is. It is a wonderfully peaceful place to live. Some of Northern Stamford (the very wealthy area) still has zoning that allows farm animals! So you'll see some gorgeously wooded and landscaped lots with winding creeks and pristine properties that have horses or chickens! And all this is less than an hour from Manhattan!! It is actually a perfect place to live. (in my opinion)

[hounddogdm]

thanks for the beautiful photos. my wife and i have been considering moving to east tennessee. this really makes me wish we were there now. thank you, hounddogdm