Autumn in Nova Scotia

I do love this time of year....leaves changing colors...cool enough weather to actually use the stove without the need of fans or air conditioners ....tons of fantastic local produce for making batches of preserves ... my "why I love Autumn" list is endless so I thought I'd share some of the beauty of Nova Scotia and how we've spent a recent weekend...along with recipes, of course.

Loving the Fall - Autumn at its Best

I have two favorite seasons...

Spring... for obvious reasons. Long, dreary, cold Winter is over!  Lilac & apple blossoms,

asparagus,

fiddle heads, just to name a few

And then there's Autumn - wait do you think I've forgotten Summer... not really.  Although I love the harvest and travelling through this lovely province that is Nova Scotia, I don't relish heat.  So Summer for me, is just a stopping point between my favorite seasons.

Fall, on the other hand, with its special bounty including a bazillion tomatoes, squashes and, most definitely apples.  I've been going apple picking with my daughter and her (now) husband for many years... even before we moved here.  That's Joanna in an apple tree a number of years ago.

It's always been fun, especially once little ones arrived.  I love the "testing" part to make sure we picked the juiciest, crunchiest apples in the orchard.

So yesterday was no exception.  We headed out to Elderkin's Farm Market & uPik in the Annapolis Valley.    Truthfully, the boys and I pooped out within 15 minutes.  It was incredibly hot out ... think mid-Summer...

 but that didn't stop my Princess from collecting 40  pound - you heard correctly!  The photo only shows 20 pounds and then she just bought 10 pounds of pears for us to do some chutney making.

The boys and I had a different favorite moment - eating ice cream after all the work was done!

Since we're on the subject of apples, I thought I'd share some of my favorite apple recipes

the Apple Crisp that's been in my family for at least three generations

Apple Cake, moist and delicious especially for a mid-morning snack

and my very favorite of all.... Normandy Apple Tart.

Since we'll be making some Pear Chutney this afternoon...I thought I'd share that too.

What's your reason for loving Fall?