September and October are my favourite months of the year. I’ve never been a “fun in the sun” girl. Give me a campfire instead of a beach any day. Pumpkin beer, chilly evenings where I can wear a pair jeans and a warm sweater and I’m in heaven. Which is why I wanted to write a blog post about some of my favourite fall activities:
The Fair. When I was a kid the fair was the place to be – rides, cotton candy and games. But by the time I was old enough to drive myself to the fair I wanted nothing to do with it — tractor pulls, cattle shows, and greasy pig contests were just too small-town for me. But, in the past couple of years, I’ve started to change my mind again about the fair. Like a lot of people, I have become more aware of food politics, and try to eat as much locally produced food as possible. The fair celebrates all things local and is a great community event. There are giant pumpkins, competitions for the best vegetable, a parade and local music. There is even a cake competition (I almost submitted the cake with the second place ribbon below to cake wrecks then Mike pointed out that it was the children’s competition. And, cue feeling like a jerk.) It’s a weekend where I get to hang out with my family and celebrate the fact that autumn is just around the corner.
Trips out of the city. Nothing beats sitting around a campfire, walking in the woods and eating warm food with friends and family. We are super lucky to have amazing friends that invite us to their cottage every year and every year, in the fall, we go camping with my family here. Usually food is the highlight of these trips! At the cottage friends make chili, french toast and we sip on whisky while playing board games. At the campground, my mom makes veggie smoked beans, lots of mashed potatoes and always brings us a can of mushroom gravy. My family plays croquet and my sister and I hunt for mushrooms on our hikes.
I think in Canada the beauty of fall makes you realize how short the season truly is. Before you know it, the snow will be falling and we will have to deal with January’s short days and dark, long and cold nights.
West Wellington Veggie 