Our town has a fun tradition for the month of October. We have the Pumpkin People pop up all over. Each year is a different theme, but I really like this years especially. It is Toon Town, showcasing a bunch of classic cartoons.
This morning we got up and went apple picking again with family and friends and then everyone came back to our place to test out the BBQ on our new deck. Then we went out around town to check out the different displays.
Caught this sunset as Jen and I were out for one of our evening walks. Our quick walks are some of my favourite times during the day.
If I have to go to the store I may as well take the scenic route.
Jen had the day off today, well at least until after school, so we took a bit of time this morning and went for a walk around the marsh.
The water had a skim of ice on the top in some places. The grass and cat tails were shimmering with a bit of frost. Our faces were a little cold when we were done, but it was a really nice way to spend time together.
We live in an agriculture and rural area of Nova Scotia, so Fall is a big time of year. We celebrate the harvest and there are plenty of events on the go all the time. It might be heading to the farm markets for some fun activities, or a visit to one of the many corn mazes that are setup.
Each year my town of Kentville celebrates the season with the Harvest Festival which includes the Pumpkin People. This years theme is Lego! The town themselves build many displays but they also give away the supplies so that residents can participate and make their own. We’ve made our own a couple times but didn’t get to it this year. The last year we did it the theme was technology so we made a group using Apple devices.
The kids especially love each year going to see and pose with the different pumpkin people. It also brings in a bunch of tourists and other visitors each year to come and tour the extra residents that show up. In years past when running near morning when it is still a bit dark out these guys have been known to scary me pretty good when they first get setup. This year I’ve only been out when it is more light so there hasn’t been any jumping when I come around a corner and see an orange face looking at me.
This evening we went for a wonderful family walk. My sister is still home visiting with her husband so a bunch of us got together to take Finney for a walk around Miners Marsh.
With us came my mom and my brother in laws parents as well. It was a perfect evening to be out. The kids each took turns walking Finney and thought it was great. The marsh is probably my favourite place in town. I end up using it as part of my runs a lot because of that.
My little town has setup something pretty interesting recently. It’s been setup for at least a couple weeks now but I just noticed it personally just the other night. In the Centre Square area they’ve setup a public piano that anyone regardless of talent can come play at anytime.
It’s a pretty cool concept. Maybe one of these days when I’m down there again I’ll sit down and play a lovely rendition of twinkle twinkle little star.
You can find more information about it and a cute picture here:
Last night Noah and I went out for a walk around Miners Marsh in Kentville while Jen took Ella to dance. It was overcast on the way down but dry. We weren’t very far into the walk before the rain started. Noah wasn’t thrilled about it, but we had a good time anyway.
When we happened across the family of Canadian Geese who we have been watching grow all year he was happy again. The stood in the path and didn’t seem to care that we were there. That is until we got too close and one of the parents started hissing at us. We had tried to give them space and make some noise to have them move off the path, but they were fine until we were basically right beside them.
The most exciting thing though was right at the entrance of the marsh a new Wee Library has been setup. Thanks to our great community and mostly Laura from Valley Family Fun for taking this on and getting it in place. I really need to get her on WordPress. I had seen pictures of these little libraries before and thought they were a great idea, but never even thought to try and get one setup. Thanks Laura!
Today I went back down and made my first contribution to the library. I had ended up with two copies of The Year Without Pants, so I thought I would bring a copy down for others to enjoy. Maybe someone local will pick it up, apply, and I’ll have a local coworker again!
Another gorgeous day out today. I took advantage and spent a while working outside at my favourite cafe in town TAN Coffee. Fresh air and good coffee make the work day even better! Kentville might not be as exotic as some of my co-workers “offices” at https://officetoday.wordpress.com but it still felt great today!
Autumn is my favourite time of the year.
September starts out as what I call Birthday Month in my house. Three of my children have birthdays this month and so does my Father-in-law. So we get to start off the best season by celebrating for the whole last of the month.
My wife enjoys birthdays more than the average person so she goes all out. Most people we celebrate with have at least two parties. One on their actual birthday which is more for family and a dinner, but then the bigger party celebrating with all their friends in some fashion. This causes the month to be busy between the planning and running around associated with this, but we always have a good time.
We live in a beautiful agricultural area so Autumn is also harvest season. So many agricultural tourism based attractions have popped up over the years. From corn mazes to apple picking, there’s always something going on to get out in the fresh crisp fall air. The temperatures are about perfect for my liking and the scenery with the leaves changing colors makes an excellent backdrop for our adventures.
We have a couple really cool events. The Annual Giant Pumpkin Regatta is, just as the name sounds, an event built around giant pumpkins. Competitors will actually carve them out into huge boats and paddle them across the water in a race. Before that they have a big parade so you can see all the fancy designs and costumes they’ve prepared to stand out in the race.
My town also holds an annual Pumpkin People Festival. All over town displays of pumpkin people show up to celebrate the harvest season. It draws lots of visitors to the area and is a favourite activity of my kids to go around and see all the people.
Each year in October there is the Valley Harvest Marathon, this year I’ve registered to run my first race ever. I’ve done a few 10k runs in preparation so hopefully it will go well and hopefully it will become a new Autumn tradition for me.
There are a few down sides to Autumn though. For one the days get a lot shorter. Early morning runs have been pushed back which makes it harder to fit in to our busy morning schedules. It is also a clear reminder that as beautiful as this time of year is, it won’t be long before winter is here.
