Autumn

Today was all about fall harvest...and had nothing to do with vast quantities of plums.

This morning, I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread: one gluten- and refined sugar free, which was quite tasty even though I ran out of maple syrup, and the other one regular wheat flour for potluck. Nothing smells like fall more than the smell of pumpkin bread wafting through the house.

After lunch, we packed up the car and headed to Carnation for pumpkin picking and farm animal viewing. I rarely go out to this part of the county (to be honest, I think I've been to Carnation once about 20+ years ago). It was a gorgeous drive -- the sun was shining, the leaves were turning and the cattle were lowing*. It was such a beautiful, peaceful drive that it seriously got me thinking about giving up my ironclad native Seattleite identity.

We got to the farm, which was packed of course, and had much to do. We sampled roasted corn and an organic hamburger, introduced August to chickens, ponies, and two smelly sleeping pigs (they scared her), rode behind a tractor to the pumpkin patch, and picked out a pumpkin to take home. Ray picked up some produce while we were there, and August ogled the corn maze in the barn loft, though we didn't attempt it.

Next: a Sukkah party. My lab-mate and her family hosted a potluck to celebrate the Jewish harvest holiday. I thought I was familiar with Jewish holidays, but this one -- called Sukkot -- was news to me. Basically, each family builds a sukkah in their backyard, like a little temporary gazebo where they can eat, sleep if it's good weather, and visit with friends. The sukkah is adorned with branches, paper chains, fruit and vegetables hanging for decoration. My friend decided to forgo the fruit and veggies to keep the bees away. Anyway, everyone brought food and spent some time sitting in the sukkah, while a million kids ran around and hit each other with sticks. August was quite envious.

All in all, a great day, though I'm spent and can't crack the journal articles I'd set aside for this evening.

* Whatever that means.