Like many residents at the Maple Inn bed and breakfast, Lindy was a leaf peeper, as fanatical about following the changing foliage in New England as birders are about stray Madagascan weeble-warblers on the Butt of Lewis.

A retired clinician from New Jersey with a sparkling intellect in inverse proportion to her dress sense, she had researched the subject thoroughly and had fall guides, fall maps and fall weather charts. "I phoned a fall foliologist a couple of times to make sure I was on the right track," she said. "You ever met a foliologist?"

They first emerged in America — leafpeepers who flock to the woods in New England and the Appalachians to stalk the fast-changing autumnal colours.

There are even resident foliologists who plot routes for these enthusiasts with some useful hints such as 'don't get out of your car to pat a moose'.

America's first "foliologist," Scotty Johnston, has announced predictions for the best color periods throughout the United States and Canada.