Blessed September!

It is September at last! So happy September everyone! And happy first day of autumn. Because yes, I don't care what other people say, the season starts with the month, not the equinox. It's my favourite season and it cannot come too early. And as a yearly tradition on this blog, I celebrate the beginning of the month and the start of autumn with this picture of a sort of horn of plenty. My parents made that basket arrangement back in 2008 and took a series of pictures of it. I think it looks perfectly seasonal, with apples and crab apples and homemade jellies. What do you think?

"Vive les pommes"

Nous avons acheté ce napperon pour petit loup lors de notre dernier séjour au Québec. En fait, c'est un napperon pour toute la famille. Comme l'automne arrive à grands pas et que l'automne, c'est le temps des récoltes, surtout des récoltes de pommes, je partage aujourd'hui.

Des Tournesols

Nous sommes allés voir des amis il y a quelques jours. Dans leur jardin, ils ont fait pousser des tournesols. Ils n'ont pas l'air trop mal, malgré la chaleur qui n'arrête pas. Mais ces tournesols (quatre en tout) me donnent espoir. Je sais qu'on les associe parfois à l'été, à cause de leur couleur jaune solaire, mais pour moi ils représentent l'automne et les récoltes. Surtout qu'on les voit souvent dans les décorations automnales, parfois avec des épouvantails. Alors je regarde ces tournesols et je me rappelle qu'il devrait y avoir un automne. Enfin, éventuellement.

Augtober (You Are Here)

 I found this meme online and I thought I would share it. Because mentally, I'm here. It is not August, it is Augtober. Yes, it's not time to pick up pumpkins yet, but all the same, Halloween is on my mind: I am reading horror stories already and I am this close to decorate the house with autumnal stuff. It's far too hot, the worst summer we had in decades, nevertheless I am looking for signs of autumn. Anyway, that's me. And for you, is it Augtober too?

Lammas Day ("there comes an autumn sickle...")

 

And as the daylight's fading
When Lammas has come in
And gleamers go to work among the stubble
There comes an autumn sickle
To cut the summer's throat
Before the season knows it is in trouble

Martin Newell, Black Shuck

 We are Lammas Day, the first of August. As a tradition on Vraie Fiction, I quote this poem, maybe my favourite poem ever. A scary story in the form of a poem. Anyway, for me these verses remind me that autumn and Halloween are coming and they put me in an autumnal and spooky mood.

"À la Sainte-Anne, les bleuets sont mûrs..."

 "À la Sainte-Anne les bleuets sont mûrs. C'est le raisin de chez-nous, fils du feu; du sol humble et pierreux c'est l'offrande; c'est le miel des crans sauvages, le frère des éricales dans le royaume infini des sphaignes et des tourbières."

Menaud maître-draveur, Félix-Antoine Savard

 Chaque 26 juillet, lors de la Sainte-Anne, je partage cette citation de Félix-Antoine Savard. J'ai lu Menaud il y a de cela à peu près trente-cinq ans. Je me rappelle des grandes lignes, mais ce qui me marque le plus, ce sont les passages sur les bleuets (comme je suis du Saguenay...). Enfin bref, il faudrait bien que je revisite le roman un de ces quatre.

The crab apples are green

We went to visits my wife's parents recently. Her mother planted a crab apples tree, which has been growing quite nicely. I love crab apples: my parents have a crab apple tree as well. When the fruits turn red, at some point in August, it means that it's time to harvest them and that autumn is going to be here soon. Of course, we are in the heart of July and the crab apples are still very green, as you can see. Still, in the hot summer days, crab apple trees remind me to be patient and help me wait for my favourite season.

Time to grow a pumpkin patch?

 I found this meme a few days ago in one of the Halloween pages I follow. Now is the time to grow pumpkins, apparently. I am not so sure I should: last time I did was catastrophic, the slugs ate them all, no matter what I tried to keep them away. It broke my heart, it really did, and crushed my hopes of becoming a half-decent gardener. That said, I love this meme because it reminds me I am not so far away from spooky season. I just need to be patient.

THE Scarecrow

So for today's countdown to Halloween post: scarecrows. So we went to the Scarecrow Festival two days ago.And there was a lot to love and blog about, but I wanted to share the best scarecrow we saw. This one. Many were cute and inventive, but I thought not enough of them were scary. Then, walking back to our car, cutting through the woods, we got slightly lost, then quickly found our way back to the village. And we saw this scarecrow. A Jack O'Lantern as the head, surrounded by actual crows, punpkins at its feet, the evening was falling down, a quintessential autumnal image... I could have watched it until night time. Then again, maybe he'd have started moving and chasing us. This scarecrow belongs to a horror story, which I hope to write one day.

The Grim Raker

For today's countdown to Halloween post, first, a bit of news: the annual Scarecrow Festival will start again soon, so get ready to see a lot of scarecrow pictures on Vraie Fiction. I took this picture last year at the very Scarecrow Festival. A Grim Reaper that truly is a Rake Reaper. I found it deliciously scary and perfectly autumnal, even if the rake gives it a comical touch. A lot of the scarecrows featured at the festival are funny, many are scary, some are both. I would love to write a story about this Reaper. Well, I'd probably change the rake for a scythe, but I would keep the white shroud and the pumpkin.

Time at the pumpkin patch

There is one annoucement I wanted to make for the countdown to Halloween: we have so far five pumpkins for the jack o'lanterns. Three we bought in supermarkets, two were acquired at a pumpkin patch this weekend. We go to a near(ish) petting zoo that makes great family activities every Halloween. Among them, of course, is pumpkin picking in a "pumpkin patch". On a sunny but cold autumn day, there's nothing better. Wolfie was enthusiastic and gave his mother a new Wolfism, when she told him we should stick to one pumpkin this year: "Well, I'd like to choose a little bit more than just one pumpkin!" I think two is very reasonable.

Les tartes aux pommes de Première Moisson

 Je commence ce billet avec une confession vraiment honteuse, pour quelqu'un qui adore l'automne: je ne suis pas un fan de tarte aux pommes. Je sais, je sais, c'est honteux. Les pommes, ce sont les récoltes, les fruits, enfin bref, c'est toute la saison. La tarte, c'est la civilisation qui transforme la saison. Le pire, c'est littéralement le seul dessert aux pommes qui me laisse froid. Cela dit, je compte un jour me réconcilier avec les tartes aux pommes. Et je vois sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson qu'ils ont pleins de variétés de tartes aux pommes. Alors c'est décidé: je vais me bourrer la fraise de tarte aux pommes de Première Moisson si je reviens au Québec quand elles sont en vente.

"Welcome Autumn"

 Today is the equinox, which means, well, that we are officially in autumn, by any standards and measurement, and that nobody, and I mean nobody, can claim otherwise. For me, of course, it doesn't start on the 22nd of September, but the first, as it should anywhere. Be that as it may, summer is gone, dusted, buried until next year. And to celebrate, I am sharing a photo of a decoration my wife bought me last year. With a pumpkin on it to remind us of harvests and of Halloween which is getting closer.

Pot Roast

 My dad sent me this picture of a family classic this time of year: the pot roast. I remember having one every year, either in August or in September, but truly this is a proper September meal. I consider it an autumnal meal in any case, because you eat the products of early harvest; parsnip, carrots, cabbages (surprisingly tasty with plain white vinegar), sweet corn (a staple for autumn if there is one) and some meat to give it a bit of proteins and taste. There's more, but as long as you have your root vegs, your cabbage, sweet corn and a bit of meat, you are set, you have a pot roast.

Pain saveurs d'automne

J'ai pris cette photo sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson. Il y a bien des choses que j'aimede cette boulangerie-pâtisserie, dont ses produits automnaux. Il y en a un qu'ils ont sorti récemment: un pain saveurs d'automne. Décrit comme "un mariage qui célèbre l’automne et les moissons à la perfection," il est fait de "pommes fraîches du Québec, de dattes, d’épices automnales, de miel et de graines de citrouille grillées". Vous devinerez que ça parle mon language.

Les récoltes du marché

Photo prise par ma mère au Grand Marché de Québec. Quand je vois des légumes comme ça dans un marché local, c'est automatique, je me rappelle du temps où on allait les chercher dans le jardin de mon oncle. Un autre rituel qui me rappelle le retour de l'automne. 

Des pommes au marché

Je place ici une autre photo prise par ma mère au Grand Marché de Québec, rien que parce que. On y voit des pommes, des tomates et des haricots. Mais ce sont les pommes qui retiennent mon attention. J'adore acheter des pommes dans les marchés, surtout ces temps-ci, parce que c'est le fruit de l'automne.

Long-awaited September!

Happy first of September to all my readers! At last it is here! I have been waiting for it since at least June, if not May. Today is, for me, the true beginning of autumn. To commemorate and celebrate it, I share here a basket full of crap abbles and apples, and their jellies, home-made by my parents. They took this picture back in 2008 I think, took a lot of them actually. I think it makes for a perfect horn of plenty. Boy am I a happy fellah knowing that September is finally here! Be warned: this blog is now mostly an autumnal chronicle.

Framboises blanches

Mon père a acheté des framboises blanches il y a quelques jours et m'a envoyé une photo. Parce que... J'avoue que je les trouve pâlottes et pas mûres, mais j'essaierais quand même, par curiosité. Pour moi, les framboises, ça représente la cueillette de la fin des vacances, chez mon oncle. On y allait au moins une fois par année. C'est l'un des rituels de mon enfance qui me manque parfois. Enfin bref, ça n'a l'air de rien, mais cette photo est un peu l'une de mes madeleines de Proust.

Gelée de pommettes

Signe que l'automne approche: mes parents ont fait de la gelée de pommettes. Il m'a envoyé des photos. Si j'étais chez eux, j'en mangerais sur mes toasts le matin et je commencerais à rêver à l'automne qui arrive.