Tag Archives: pumpkins

It’s Officially Fall

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NE Fall

New England Fall photo credit Deb Neumann

🍂 Fall in New England

It’s been building to this moment all month. The mornings have grown cooler, the air carries a crisp bite, and—what’s that I see? Alongside cheerful pumpkin displays, the leaves are beginning to change color. Today is September 22, and with the flip of a calendar page, we’re officially in fall. It’s the Fall Equinox.

Pumpkin Patch- photo credit Deb Neumann

🌞 Fall Equinox

The Fall Equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator heading south. We’ll experience roughly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness—a perfect balance. Since the time of the Druids, this day has signaled the end of the harvest and the beginning of preparations for winter. This year, winter officially begins on December 21, the Winter Solstice—also known as the shortest day (or perhaps the longest night) of the year.

🍎 Fall Traditions

Fall is a favorite season for many. The heat of summer fades, and vibrant colors line the roads and byways. It’s the perfect time for apple picking and leaf peeping. Around the Equinox, fall color begins to burst forth—starting in Maine and New Hampshire, then gradually sweeping south through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island by mid to late October.

Norton colors

Along the water in Norton-,photo credit Deb Neumann

đźš— Where to View the Fall Foliage

Cycling the Kancamagus photo Deb Neumann

If you time it right, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are breathtaking. Try a drive along the Kancamagus Highway, which connects Lincoln in the south to Conway in the north. My brother and I once took his motorcycle up there—we froze in the mountain air, but those spectacular views without a car roof in the way? Worth every shiver.

Jack o Lanterns Keene NH photo Deb Neumann

🌄 Mohawk Trail

Closer to home in Massachusetts, the Mohawk Trail offers stunning foliage and sweeping vistas. The western stretch, as you approach New York State, is especially vibrant.

🏔️ Mount Greylock

I’ve heard wonderful things about the views from Mount Greylock’s summit. Nestled in the heart of the Berkshires, it’s the highest peak in Massachusetts. I haven’t made the drive yet—traffic’s rumored to be horrendous—but maybe this is the year to bite the bullet and go for it.

 

Swans in Flight Photo Deb Neumann

 

 

It’s a Banner Year for Fall Colors

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Fall Colors Abound

The fall foliage colors are amazing this year. Being in southern New England they just started turning this week but they began peaking last week in the more northern states. My cousin got to head north  to Maine and New Hampshire and shared some beautiful video on Face Book. If you have a minute you can check out her video here.    https://www.facebook.com/kathy.collins.7127/videos/10214903348962786/?t=0        In Southeastern Massachusetts we’ve had a no’reaster sitting off the coast of Nantucket all week. Lots of rain and high winds have made leaf peeping locally a bit of a challenge. Now if you like taking pictures in the rain- go for it. I’ve been a little too busy to mess with rain gear but it hasn’t stopped me from admiring the color changes.

Last Chance for 2019

Just as my cousin headed north for her vacation I’m heading south. I’m heading to the Florida Keys so today is the last chance I’ll have to get any fall foliage photos for this year. It looks like it’s stopped raining so maybe I’ll get lucky.  I think I can spare an hour to go poking around before I finish my packing. What do you think of these?

Leaf Peeping locally

I didn’t plan my vacation very well but it was the only time I could get in at the resort I wanted. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. The newscasters have been talking about the colors along the Mohawk Trail this year and out toward the Berkshires. I won’t have time to make that drive but these photos from Raynham and Easton aren’t bad if I do say so. This is what I get to see everyday as I commute to work. Not a bad view. Of course I had to swing by the Norton Reservoir. That was always a pretty spot. It used to be on my drive when I worked in Foxboro.  I do miss that. I guess that’s all for now. Catch you all on the weekend.

It was a Cold but Sunny Day

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Last Sunday was cold! Good thing it was sunny because if it had rained it probably would have turned to snow. It was windy too but that didn’t slow down Dawn and Alex, my guests with their mother at my company’s annual Customer Appreciation Event.

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This year it was at Belkin Outlook Farm in Natick. The farm has apple picking, a play area with little animals and a train to get you around the property.

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Each attendee got to pick a pumpkin and there were loads of pumpkins!  The grape arbors are gorgeous even if they were past grape peak.

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The company served a barbecue lunch with ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers. Well maybe we should call them cold dogs because in spite of the chefs best efforts the food chilled as soon as it came off the grill.

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I don’t know if it was special because of the event or if they always feature an animal ride but this time they had a camel ride. Dawn was in line for that in a flash but Alex preferred the warmer inside of the Lego building.

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It was cold enough that the battery for the camera died way too soon. The spare was in the car because I didn’t take the cold into consideration.

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OOPS! But the photos I got seemed to catch the atmosphere and the fun.

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Fall is Pumpkin Time

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I think I have discovered the perfect Pumpkin Patch for Linus (Of Charlie Brown Fame) to find the “Great Pumpkin”.

Back from New York and the Adirondack Balloon Festival I’d barely had time to unpack when my friend Nancy told me she had arranged  a meeting with one of the owners of the Sailing Cow Cafe in Dennisport, MA. They were interested in seeing my photos and cards to possibly order some for the restaurant. So here we were on a beautiful Tuesday morning driving down to Dennisport, MA.

At Nancy’s suggestion we were traveling down Rt 28 instead of the Cape Highway (RT 6) . The sun was shining and the sky was a deep blue. There was a touch of fall in the air, a perfect day. That was when we spotted the carpet of bright orange and green. Pumpkins everywhere. We had to stop.

There were big pumpkins and small, white ones and green gourds.

There was even a T-shirt stand with T-shirts, of course but also cookbooks with pumpkin recipes. The event is The Pumpkin Patch and it is well named. It’s a fund-raiser for the local church.

They set up a spectacular display. All those orange pumpkins spread out over the green lawn is a feast for the eyes.

Nancy and I wandered among the rows taking pictures as we went.

Nancy also bought a T-shirt for her grand baby in Ohio. Then it was time to move on. We still had to get to our meeting at the Sailing Cow.

Do you know how to Carve a Jack-o- lantern?

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How to Carve a Spectacular Jack-O-Lantern at Home


Probably the most frequently asked questions about the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular have to do with carving technique – what are the secrets of the Spectacular’s expert carvers? Here are some tips from the experts on how to get crafty with pumpkin carving.

Carve the hole and gut your jack o’ lantern from the bottom of the pumpkin, not at the top. This will provide more stability for your jack o’ lantern as it gets softer and it will make it much easier to light. 

Use the features of your particular pumpkin to your advantage. For example, if the pumpkin has a long, curly stem, place the pumpkin on its side and use the stem as a nose. 

Use a specialized carving tool, such as those used in ceramics, to peel the pumpkin skin in different thicknesses to make for more detail, rather than just carving holes into the pumpkin. 

Practice peeling more or less of the skin away. By peeling different thicknesses of the rind away, you can create a 3-D shading effect when the light shines through. 

Use markers to draw your design before you carve and to provide detailing to the finished carving. 

To help your pumpkins stay fresh longer, spray the outside with a diluted bleach solution. (Of course, this means there will be no pumpkin pie made from that pumpkin later!)