It’s that time of year again when the days get a bit shorter, the weather cools and there’s a wee nip in the early morning air. The leaves are changing color and starting the fall, the most magnificent shades of amber and gold, scarlet and crimson, yellows, deep browns and a gazillion beautiful shades in between.
The flavours of Fall have arrived with Pumpkin Spice everything, and the Fall harvest begins. Or wait a minute, is it Autumn? And why does this season have two names when the others just have one? And which name came first?
Fall or Autumn?
Both Fall and Autumn are commonly used and it does tend to vary depending on where you live, however it appears that Autumn is a little bit older. With both French and Latin origins, it’s first found being used in English in the late 1300’s. Folks started calling the season “Fall” around the 1500’s, referring to the leaves of deciduous trees turning colour and falling. It also follows the expressions from 16th century England as “fall of the leaf” and “fall of the year”.
The earliest known reference to this season actually pre-dates both Autumn and Fall, and was simply known as Harvest. Translated from an Old English word “haerfest” with Germanic origins, the meaning suggested “picking, or plucking” (as in picking fruits and vegetables).
Fall Harvest
When I was little and growing up in southern Alberta, I’d heard folks talk about the fruit grown here in BC. People would chat with my folks in their store about the cases of peaches, nectarines and apples they’d brought back from their summer vacations in the Okanagan. Although everything always sounded so delicious I’d still wondered what the big deal was. We can get fruit and veggies right here in the grocery store, right?
I remember sometimes in the summer my mom would take me to the small farmers market on Saturdays, downtown in my hometown. I remember the local farmers tables set up with all types of fresh produce and I learned early on the incredible difference in the taste of ‘fresh from the garden’ goodies like tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and peas but wholly, I’d never seen anything like the stuff that’s grown around here. Oh my goodness!!
Fall in Southern Alberta was totally synonymous with the harvest and for Taber corn. Roadside stands start appearing late in the season and that stuff was something else – I’d eat it every day till we couldn’t get it anymore. Folks from the Hutterite colonies would come to town sometimes with their fresh produce, farm fresh eggs and homemade goodies. My folks weren’t the outdoory/gardening types lol, but good friends would always share extras from their gardens and I always remember it all tasted soooo good.
Anyways, until last year I’d still never been here, to the Central Okanagan, and still hadn’t seen the incredible bounty of goodies this province produces. I’m still absolutely in awe but rather than my continued babble, how about I just show you a little bit of what’s going on over here. ☺
Pumpkins and squash and gourds, oh my!
Soooo many kinds of apples!
More and more and more!
Sincere Thanks go to...
These are but a few of the roadside stands and farmer’s markets that I stole pictures of in my travels so far. Last year we lived further south and made the trip to Blossom in Summerland a LOT so, thank you Blossom! And thank you everyone for letting me show off some of the incredible produce grown around the area.
There’s SO much more that I haven’t shared here, the orchards and vineyards and massive vegetable gardens that stretch on for miles (er, kilometers…), but this gives those (like me, that haven’t seen such bounties before) a bit of an idea.
Thank you to ALL the farmers and orchardists and helpers, and to everyone that brings us this bounty. 
And thank you to the cool dude at the Kelowna Fruit Stand that gave me a crash course in gourds and squash. I’ll be sure to let you know how I make out with the Delicata’s 😊
“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.”
– John Donne