All For Fall.

Pumpkins before roasting, fallen maple leaves, freshly jarred homemade roasted pepper salsa.

Pinecone & sunflower butter bird-feeder that Noey and I made one afternoon.

Lentil soup with chicken and kale, wholewheat sunflower buns and homemade apple butter.


Powwow & Harvest Fest at the Ontario Museum of Archeology.

Fall is upon us. Real fall. The kind of fall that nibbles the tip of your nose with the quick flitting breeze that rustles leaves from their branch perch and sends squirrels into a nut hiding frenzy. It's been overcast, cool and rainy--the kind of autumn that I haven't felt for over a decade. I must be honest, it's nice--fall always was my favorite time of year. It never did feel quite right putting mums on the stoop in Los Angeles' 70 degree temperatures.

So, in light of the season, we pulled out our fuzzy sweaters and rain boots and dove right in. Decorative gourds fill a basket on the coffee table, leaves are raked into big puffy nests for jumping fests, pumpkins continually roast in the oven while loaves of hearty, seedy bread rise under warm towels on the kitchen counter. We've crafted pine cone bird feeders and leaf rubbings and stewed and jarred homemade apple butter, peach chutney, ketchup and roasted pepper salsa for the winter--all fresh from either the farmer's market or a neighbor's garden.

Yes, both the joys and bounties of fall are plenty. With Dean's birthday mid-week and Canadian Thanksgiving just around the bend, I am sure that there will only be more of them to follow.

Happy October and Happy Fall to All!