Every season has its own special features making it extraordinary in some way. Spring brings new life as animals hatch and are born, as trees begin to bud, and as the cold winter air begins to warm. The winter encourages our quintessential Canadian pastimes such as hockey, skating, skiing, and drinking hot chocolate. This is definitely considered a pastime as when asked by various people what you do when it's minus 30 outside; drinking hot chocolate or tea looking out into a winter wonderland is one of the activities you say you do.
Summer allows us to be more active outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun, while swimming, boating, fishing, and generally enjoying the great weather. I even look forward to thunder storms as my sister and I used to join our Dad on our front step when I was little. We watched the lightning and listened to the booming thunder. Mom would come outside to sit with us all and tell my sister and me, "The angels are bowling in Heaven."
Fall, however, I realize now is probably one of my favourite seasons. I think it has to do with growing up on a farm in a small community. The trees change colours, they've already begun to turn, which I find fascinating and quite pretty. The perfect weather, which requires a light sweater, that has a bit of a nip in the air tasting fresher and cleaner somehow. This isn't really what I love about the fall, though they are definitely great bonuses.
Fall meant going back to school. I personally loved school and sort of wish that I could be going back. The whole atmosphere of school was something I thoroughly enjoyed. Many have joked that I would be a lifelong student continually taking a new degree or switching the one I had been working on, as I considered more than once doing this.
Learning so many different and interesting things was always something I looked forward to after a summer of doing nothing really intellectually taxing. It also meant that, in high school, volleyball would be starting soon, which I loved. I was always excited to see friends after the summer holidays and catch up with them about their summers.
Harvest though was always one of my favourite times and I think it's more the memories associated with this time that makes me love the season. The combine was somehow slightly more fun to ride in with Dad than the tractor in spring. I'm not entirely sure why, but possibly because it looks more interesting. They look sort of like a giant bug I always thought.
The other evening I was driving and looked towards the moon. It was a Harvest Moon. The reddish tinge brought by the combines turning dust was beautiful and in that instant I longed for our farm. We sold it a few years ago now, but I still miss being able to go home and help out. Whether just cooking or riding along with Dad in the combine and Mom in the grain truck it wouldn't matter.
I loved when we would take suppers out to my Dad and often my Uncle who would come down to help during harvest for a couple of weeks each year. We would all get to eat together, in the middle of a field, with nothing but the sounds of nature around us just enjoying family and life on the farm.
My sister and I would even play in the box of the grain truck after it was filled some, much like playing in a sand box I suppose but just more fun. As the combine would come we would clamber out waiting for Dad to fill the truck with his latest load from swipes up and down the field. If it was durum they were hauling we would usually toss some into our mouths and chew it up making "gum," which we thought was the neatest thing.
One of my other favourite things about fall though is the Fowl Suppers that are put on. The absolute most delicious food available, that is besides Mom's cooking and Dad's barbequing. Though I probably complained each year about having to serve pie, it was always nice to see everyone who came for the supper in our small town.
I've had to miss them a lot once I entered high school and then university, but was able to go two years ago for the first time in quite awhile. It was just as I had remembered it, delicious. Turkey with all the fixings, including stuffing which you sometimes wondered about since depending on who made it there could be liver pieces in it. I never really minded if there was or not, but my sister hates liver so it was fun to bug her about it. Then at the end of the meal came the delicious pies! You could only have one piece, which made it difficult to choose. Everything was available from lemon meringue to Saskatoon berry to the fall special pumpkin.
Being fairly new to this community I'm hoping that there is such a thing as a fowl supper hosted and that I will actually be able to attend.
