Articles of the Month

Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it: pulling out those warm sweaters that were stored away for the summer months, watching old movies and drinking warm cocoa on those wonderful rainy cold Sunday afternoons, listening to the wind blow the crisp leaves off the trees. So many events take place as well during the fall months: back to school, fall fairs, Thanksgiving, and my personal favorite, Halloween!

Back to school, I must admit, has its pros and cons. It's a drag that there's homework, but I like the feeling of getting back into a routine. Knowing what you'll be doing all week is comforting after a summer of craziness at the beach. Back to school shopping is also a highlight: pens, packsacks, clothes, and shoes ? what a great excuse to splurge on stuff for ourselves! Autumn is also the time for getting together with friends to share stories of your summer adventures.

Then there is Thanksgiving, a well deserved long week-end at the beginning of October when we celebrate how thankful we are for all the wonderful things in our lives. There is, of course, no better way to do this than to spend time with family feasting on a ginormous turkey supper. Because autumn is the season of the main harvest, the food is always so good. Avocadoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, squash, apples and cranberries?all are ripe and ready to be eaten.

The farmer's market is yet another wonderful thing about this time of year. With harvest season in full swing, it is the best time of the year to make apple crisp, pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes. I especially look forward to making the trip to the market to choose my pumpkin for the Halloween Jack-O-Latern. When choosing the perfect pumpkin, there are a lot of important variables to keep in mind: It has to be uniformly orange--this means that it is ripe?and have no bruises, cuts or nicks. The stem must be long with a curvey shape and some vine and a leaf or two dangling. It also has to be the perfect size so the the face you carve will be proportionate to the pumpkin.

Along with Jack-O-Lanterns, autumn brings witches and goblins who roam the streets looking for goodies at Halloween, tricksters who lurk around the neighbourhood waiting to scare unsuspecting children, and lots and lots of candy. I take advantage of the occasion to dress up and eat sweets all night long. Coming up with an original costume can prove difficult, though. One year my mother dressed me up as a bunch of grapes. I had purple balloons pinned all over my snowsuit. It was the most uncomfortable Halloween ever. I couldn't walk, I couldn't sit, and every now and then I would get startled by a loud "POP"! Lesson learned: Halloween costumes are to not be taken lightly. You have to pick something comforable and warm.

The colors of autumn are spectacular with trees decked out in hues of yellow, red and orange. The forest changes every day until at last all the trees are completely bare. On sunny autumn afternoons, I venture out on local bike paths to choose the brightest and most vibrant leaves that have fallen and bring them home to display on a small wooden table in the entrance. The smell of autumn is also very special, and the crispness in the air so refreshing. Everything becomes still as the birds migrate south and the children put their bicycles away for the winter. Everything and everyone is preparing for those long winter days.

This then is what autumn to me: taking advantage of the sunny weather to walk in colorful forests, spending time with family over a great meals and carefully planning my outfit for October 31st with friends. Finally, autumn is anticipating all the great activities that winter will bring!