Tag: autumn

the first autumnal day

MarthaKimball1 Comment

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On the first truly autumnal day of the year (last Saturday) when the rain fell off and on all day and the temps dropped low, we went out for a little drive in our town to find a pumpkin patch.  Our area is apple country and there are lots of orchards here, but almost none are organic (there’s only one that I know of and they aren’t u-pick) and they tend to be crazy busy this time of year.  We passed quite a few with lines of people curving around buildings waiting for cider doughnuts.  Hoping to find a quieter, lesser-known spot with a true pumpkin patch, we stumbled upon the perfect spot.  There were only a handful of other people there, the kids could wander through the pumpkin patch freely and the view was beautiful.  Phoebe couldn’t believe Noah was about the same height as her.  Noah found the “biggest pumpkin in the patch” so we will have a nice carving pumpkin for halloween.  Wren tried to figure out what all the excitement was about and Philippa trotted happily along with everyone else.  This spot was technically a nursery, so after picking out some pumpkins we wandered through the greenhouses. The children also had to pick out small pumpkins to paint, as they’ve done for the last number of years.  It was a sweet and simple way to spend a Saturday morning together.  We do so love this time of year!  (And if you’re local and need a good quiet spot to wander through growing things, we recommend visiting Linda’s Plants and Shrubs.)

apples and things

MarthaKimball2 Comments

DSC_0081DSC_0087DSC_0089DSC_0093DSC_0099DSC_0100DSC_0101DSC_0104DSC_0106DSC_0114DSC_0117DSC_0121DSC_0125DSC_0128DSC_0108DSC_0132DSC_0133DSC_0143DSC_0145DSC_0155DSC_0157DSC_0160DSC_0166DSC_0172DSC_0006DSC_0008 (1)DSC_0010 (1)DSC_0215DSC_0217DSC_0218We live in the vicinity of many, many apple orchards.  It’s become a fall tradition of ours to go apple picking, which is always a really sweet time.  I mean, don’t get me wrong–there are plenty of whiney moments, too, from all of us.  This particular Saturday a few weeks ago was a scorcher, so we were all pretty hot and tired by the end of our venture.  This particular orchard had an apple gun, so we treated the kids to a round of shooting apples, but only philippa, our fearless one, really wanted to give it a shot.  We let the kids each fill a basket and B and I filled one, too.  We ended up with more apples than we really needed.  It’s good and important for the children to connect with our food in this way, to see how it’s grown, to pick it and wash it and then eat it.  To understand it comes from seed and soil and sun, to smell the squashed apples around the orchard.  It really does seem to make a difference in how they/we consume food.  I wish there was a good organic orchard nearby, but there isn’t.  I made a large batch of applesauce which the kids all love and have been enjoying, as well as an apple pie recipe that a friend shared with me (a family recipe), which I adapted to be GF.  I still have a large amount of apples in my fridge waiting to be processed and enjoyed.  The children and I have so enjoyed leaning into the change of seasons here, dancing a bit on the edge of the last heat of summer and the cool crisp mornings of autumn.  My roses and hydrangea are still blooming, most trees are still green, but summer is on its way out, and I am so glad.

harbingers of autumn

MarthaKimball2 Comments

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I never used to pay attention to the way the bright spring green ages, deepening into the dark green of autumn before green gives way to brown, gold, scarlet.  Last weekend, I felt that particular itch in my soul to get up and away into the mountains, and I took the kids (with my mom) to one of my favorite areas, Black Balsam.  There’s something about this place that quiets me, and somehow hiking those familiar rocky paths and setting my eyes on that wide and wild view that makes me feel like I can breathe.  There’s so much glory.  The kids were such great hikers, even Philippa hiked the whole way and refused to be carried.  So we kept the pace of a child, which is a good pace for a tired soul.  It is the pace that allows you to notice things like darkening green, brilliant goldenrod, red and orange sumac, queen anne’s lace, all the harbingers of autumn.  It is the pace that allows for wonder.  It is the pace that allows you to really see and remember that this season is passing and giving way to another, so drink it all in.