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Holidays:  autumn traditions  |
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Lynn B
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Lynn
Derry
NH
USA
113 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 18 2006 : 12:44:55 PM
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well, since autumn will be here soon (and I want it to be sooner than that!) I thought I would post a question for fun...what is your favorite autumn tradition or activity? For me and my family it has to be going to local orcards for pumpkin and apple picking. This year should be even more fun since our house (bought last november) has an apple tree. I am getting so excited watching the apples grow bigger!!
Another one of my favorite things, hot caramel apple cider! YUM!!!
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2006 : 3:05:19 PM
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Okay...recipe please...caramel apple cider sounds wonderful!!!!
I love to take the kids to the local corn maze..I hope they do it again this year. We always used to have a "pumpkin party" and invite friends and family to come over and carve pumpkins in the back yard the SAturday afternoon before Halloween. WE would have an appetizer pot luck. Havn't done that for a few years..may have to revive that tradition..the kids love it!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 02:02:15 AM
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Here, it is when I come outside!! 
Stateside, I love all the fall fests and apple cider and making apple sauce and butter and piefilling! I love the crisp air and this is my favorite season for hiking! Those are my favorite fall activities! Thanks for a neat topic!!
Hugz!
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 05:00:29 AM
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Apple picking, then the wonderful aroma of baking pies. Bales of straw with pumpkins, scarecrow, gourds, bundles of cornstalks with a big sunflower stuck in the center....I love decorating for autumn. It's my favorite season. I love the cool nights, warm days and low humidity. Autumn even smells good out here in the woods. I love the first fire of the season that takes the chill out of the house early in the morning. Pumpkin pies, even for breakfast. Cinnamon, orange peel and cloves steaming on the edge of the woodstove. A fire in the stone fireplace while we sit on bales of hay with mugs of warm drinks and visit with friends. I would be happy to always live in autumn.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 05:56:48 AM
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Every year we travel to Helen, GA,a little Alpine village in the North GA mountains, with friends of ours. Both of our families have come to expect that in October, we are going to Helen, having a picnic at Anna Ruby Falls, touring the little shops ( I always stop at the glass blowers shop and get a grab bag for each of the kids. They have quite a collection of little glass animals now!) and stopping for pumpkins and Arkansas Black apples on the way home. Now, our children are not small anymore, but if we even hint that this trip might not happen.....  I love family traditions!!
The other thing I do, which is not as fun but certainly productive, is clean my house and get ready for the holidays. We have a big yard sale the beginning of October, and get rid of all the junk that I haul out. So liberating!! It just makes me happy! 
Karin |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 06:22:10 AM
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Let's see... Autumn traditions? Well, the State Fair and my DH's birthday are both in early October. He has this arrangement with some people he met many years ago at the fair. Apparently they all share the same birthday and so every year on their birthday, they meet in front of Big Tex at the fair. It's a long standing tradition.
For me, I like to make pumpkin bread. I love the fall fruits and vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cabbage, leeks, and cranberries) and usually get a ton of pumpkins on Halloween night (I wait until the last minute and get them when they mark them down...) I have a ton of pumpkin recipes and love to cook with it. Next year, after the house is built, I'll be doing a big pumpkin patch as our land is the perfect match for pumpkins, melons and squash.
Turkey is my DH's favorite food ever and every year at Thanksgiving, he stocks up on turkeys. He collects turkey recipes like I have pumpkin and squash ones.
I think that's it. We have a lot more traditions at Christmas and New Years.
My Homesteading Journal
http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal
http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com |
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cmandle
True Blue Farmgirl
846 Posts
Catherine
Minneapolis
MN
846 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 7:50:28 PM
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Pumpkins, apples, squash and root vegetables, kettle corn made the "right" way outside in the crisp air, leaves to rake and play in, hot chocolate, hot cider, hot tea, hot chai, hot (decaf) coffee, Halloween, my husband's birthday, biking a few last times before the snow flies, mittens when you don't really *need* them yet but they're just fun, knitting, reading, cuddling under quilts, soups on the stove, cold mornings/warm days, sweaters with sandals, hayrides, the smell of the fall air in your sweater when you take it off at the end of the day, bonfires in your backyard under blankets, s'mores, mulching over the perennials to help them sleep through the winter, my husband listening to football while I make vegetarian chili...and this year...the pure excitement of sharing all of these things with our baby Jack. Oh...how we love fall!
http://yogurtandgranola.blogspot.com |
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ali2583
True Blue Farmgirl
404 Posts
Alison
Winnipeg
Manitoba
Canada
404 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 8:48:02 PM
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Oooh, my favorite autumn tradition would have to be cooking a roast chicken. Really. I don't do a roast chicken all summer, because I know it's just so good in the fall.
And chili. The first batch of autumn chili is always so fantastic.
"God's gift to you is life. What you choose to do with that life is your gift to God" |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
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katiedid
True Blue Farmgirl
601 Posts
Kate
West Jordan
Utah
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 6:01:29 PM
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catherine with a c:
You made that sound sooo good. I can't wait to wear mittens, and drink hot cup of chamomile.
We like to visit the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins...
I love to dress up as something crazy so I can embarass my kids while we trick or treat. Last Halloween I was a member of TGK...Team Good Karma! Me and two friends were super heros or heroines I guess....we dressed up as a spin off of the power puff girls...spreading good...it was a riot. My kids were mortified and I had tons of fun.
can't wait to decide on what to be this year.
Kate
http://theknifemakerswife.blogspot.com/2006/07/knifemakers-wife.html |
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2006 : 03:27:27 AM
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| Oh, my favorite season of all, and I wish it were longer! After growing up in Virginia, when I married the first time and moved to New England, I experienced autumn like I never had before, and it was glorious! The trees all seemed to explode into their firework colors in unison and against the rich blue sky, just going outside was a treat. Picking apples at orchards that turned into pomanders, jelly and pies later on was a fun way to spend an afternoon. And small town fairs were everywhere, with homemade goodies, and of course loads of chrysanthemums to choose from. Moving back to Virginia didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the season one bit. I would begin to make floral creations out of all the flowers and herbs I had dried during the summer, in hopes of selling them at craft shows, with the first thing I made being a big fat wreath for the front door. And simmering soup late in the afternoon with the kitchen windows steaming up will always be one of my most satisfying "homey" sensations. And autumn means pansy time (!!!) so I started a tradition on the first Saturday of October, I loaded my mom and a friend into the car to head for my favorite greenhouse full of my favorite flower! It got to be such a fun tradition, with more friends, that we ended up needing several cars after the first couple of years. And tidying up and putting the garden to bed for the year always feels good; time to head indoors, to make the most of home and hearth. Hubby and I are going back to Norfolk to spend autumn and the holiday season and I am already chomping at the bit! Can't wait to feel chilly enough to throw on that first sweater!! |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2006 : 06:17:52 AM
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Karin, I LOVE Helen Ga.we used to live outside of Atlanta & went to Helen alot. We do MANY fall things. Always the apple picking, caramel apple making, corn maze, pumpkin picking, pie making, lots of fall festivals especially in my beloved OCEAN GROVE, N.J. they have about 4 fall festivals. I love walking & hiking in the fall w/ my daughter. Oh, I can just SMELL fall right now w/ all this talking about it. The ocean and beaches take on a whole different look in autumn, its darker, stronger and wilder and we love walking around in big heavy sweaters drinking coffee. I could go on but I'll spare you.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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Lynn B
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Lynn
Derry
NH
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2006 : 2:42:00 PM
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Hot Caramel Apple Cider:
Warm apple cider and a stick or two of cinnamon (you can also just sprinkle with cinnamon, I like it over the whipped cream) in a saucepan on the stove top. Ladle into mugs and stir in some caramel sauce to taste. Don't forget to top with whipped cream!! SO YUMMY!
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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mommom
True Blue Farmgirl
854 Posts
Susan
Lancaster
Pennsylvania
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2006 : 2:59:31 PM
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| For some reason, when the air gets nippy, I like to put on a bulky sweater, go sit in a rocker on one of my porches, and read. I also do fall housecleaning, and for a number of years now, we have grown our own pumpkins and we invite people over and we carve them, put them around a tree, and when it's dark we put candles in them and take pictures. I so like to make pumpkin bread and it's a time when I clean up outside and pull flowers if the frost has gotten to them. Basically, I guess, the cool air seems to rejuvenate me and I get so much more done than I do when the humidity is so high. |
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blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2006 : 4:41:50 PM
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Hi all,
Our tradition is to go pumpkin picking. We go to a local farm. It's not quite the same as when we lived in New England, but I try to make it as close as possible. We head to the farm with bags and take the hay ride out to the fields. We pick pumpkins, gourds, indian corn. We run through the corn maze and have a great time. When we get home, we eat the chili that's been cooking in the crock pot. I like to serve it in either hollowed out pumpkins or hollowed out round bread loaves. We have apple cider (hot & cold is available), and relax and enjoy each other's company. This year (both my girls won't be home) I'm thinking of inviting my farmgirl friends with their hubbies &/or significant others to go with us. I think it would be a lot of fun for us all.
Debbie
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
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Lynn B
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Lynn
Derry
NH
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2006 : 07:14:34 AM
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Autumn really is the best time of the year, isn't it?? I'm getting so excited reading all of your traditions! Susan, I love your idea of a pumpkin carving party and then putting them around a tree, that must look so amazing! I'd love to see a picture, if you get one! We didn't grow pumpkins this year (I am planning on it for next year), but don't live too far from a pumpkin patch, maybe I could do still a pumpkin carving party. Maybe do a carving party/pumpkin pot luck where everyone brings their favorite pumpkin dish? Would that be too much pumpkin??
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2006 : 07:41:34 AM
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| Just saw a great fall idea: A stack of pumpkins, each carved with a number -- together they spell out your house number! This is probably a town/suburban idea, but very attractive and fun. I think it was in Cottage Living. |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2006 : 09:11:36 AM
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I love fall, but not as much as summer. I do love bringing in the pumpkins, canning applebutter, and walking in the woods on crisp bright fall days. We always try to take the grandsons to the Wildlife Prairie Park down by Peoria. It's a beautiful drive, and there's something magical about seeing herds of buffalo ambling across the prairie, seeing bears and wolves in a natural habitat, and seeing the little 1800's farmstead they put up there, complete with animals and one room schoolhouse.
Fall also means raking leaves into big piles for boys to jump in. We used to collect them and use them for litter in the chicken house, and in the spring we had dynamite fertilizer to spread.
We also go to the orchard and buy apples. They're rediculously overpriced, but that doesn't stop us. The flavor of just picked apples, the crisp texture and perfumelike fragrance, is hard to beat. And we have to make some pies, you know.
Even those days that are gray and rainy in November are good; we can first gather around the fireplace and cozy up for old movies or reading time. Stews simmer all day on the stove, or beans bake in oven, or herbed chicken roasts slowly, making the house smell good.
I do like fall, but I sure miss the outdoor time when the weather gets harsh in winter. I like winter from inside the window, but not much outside. I long for warm summer days like this one all winter long. |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2006 : 8:16:57 PM
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i adore bringing out the 'autumn sweaters' ... and roaming the countryside buying up delicious produce to bring home for supper .. and especially making soups and stews over an open pit fire in my cast-iron kettles .. and inviting friends over to share. i love autumn decorating even more than christmas-time! hay bales and pumpkins and gourds and scarecrows and mums. i love walking in new-fallen leaves through the woods hearing them crunch with each step. autumn .. my most favorite season! xo
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2006 : 8:58:43 PM
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Love the colors of autumn, they are so warm, even the fall magazines are my favorite, the pictures are so inviting. Got a half bushel basket with bunches of Indian corn it the other day at a garage sale, it was a hot summer day and that basket looked so inviting.
NANCY JO |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2006 : 11:03:09 PM
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I just love autumn - each year around here one of the old, tremendously nice farmers does a U-pick at his pumpkin patch, which is huge. He gives tractor rides for the kids and is just nice as can be. We go down there and get our pumpkins and winter squashes - he also grows the most enormous Hubbard squashes - they are outrageous! We've been doing this even before I had children, and I just love it. My 3-yr-old is especially excited because this farmer is a friend of ours and sometimes lets him sit up on the tractor with him instead of on the hay wagon in back. Ahhhh.... I just can't wait. I love hearing what all of you do during the fall - I'm planning already. It's late here now and I can start to feel a nip in the air...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2006 : 4:59:04 PM
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When all the bugs start to die out, we really enjoy using our fire pit out back for campfire cookouts. Also, for our family, fall means Reniassance Faire. I start sewing in the end of summer and we attend the faire in october or november. The excitement leading up to it always rivals Christmas.
Trina
'
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
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La Patite Ferme
True Blue Farmgirl
623 Posts
Jenn
CA
USA
623 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2006 : 9:45:05 PM
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Our area of SoCal is not known for apples so we take a day trip to a different apple growing area each year. I love the crisp air and the changing colors. We taste apples and cider like wineries taste wine. We always bring a picnic lunch of soup with any assortment of breads and cheese and some little sweet goody. Tasting the different apple varieties is really fun and we usually come home with bags and boxes of assorted varieties which last us through the season. Fall is my time to cook those hearty warm meals and the apples play right into that. In October it's pumpkins - of course. I love to decorate with real pumpkins and squash. Our local pumpkin patch has a lot of fun activities that my daughter and her friends still like so we do that one weekend.
Great ideas girls - Now how to incorporate them all. Hum
Sounds like we're all gonna have a wonderful fall.
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2006 : 2:02:14 PM
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I was never a big fall person until we got the house with the nice front porch. Now I love changing things out for fall, just like I do in early spring, summer and winter. I have tossed all of the summer annuals that are done for the season and have so far planted decorative purple and white kale, along with some dark purple asters, I have mums and winter/fall pansies. Next will be the gords and pumpkins to go along the steps and in the wheel barrow. Now that our dry spell has finally broken, we are getting some cooler weather - next will be the hearty dinners. I found some sweet potatoe recipes and a mushroom tart recipe that sounds wonderful.
Fall can be wonderful here in the Northwest.
Anne in Portland, OR
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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Edited by - asnedecor on Sep 17 2006 2:03:05 PM |
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sewgirlie
True Blue Farmgirl
1894 Posts
Sheryl-lyn
Calverton
NY
USA
1894 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2006 : 5:20:30 PM
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We know it's fall when the caramel and candy apples are ready at the apple farm by us! We go there every weekend until they close in December. My husband buys enough so that he can have one every night during the week (I am more of a once a week person), then we are off to the farm again.
We go crazy with the house decorations for Halloween. My husband is an excellent carpenter (for hobby and house only), so if I see a huge witch or cats, or anything that I want, he will make it. He made everything I saw in the Martha Stewart Living magazine last fall.
We watch a few Christmas movies in October too. It just seems to be more relaxing then since the Christmas crush isn't on yet...Start the woodstove, make tea, get the blankie and watch "It's a Wonderful Life" while dinner is cooking. Happy times!! |
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Holidays: autumn traditions |
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autumn traditions
