October is the season of colour

This week (and next) is the peak season for autumn foliage and magnificent colour. Mother Nature puts on her best show at this time of year. Here in the Kennebecasis Valley, we are surrounded by a tapestry of reds, oranges, golds, yellows and greens. The days are generally warm and the nights cool for a good sleep. At this time of year, there are very few bugs to bother you as you stroll through the woods, along the roads or up the hills.

Whether you like to shoot macro and capture the morning dew, or vistas of colour in the distance, the opportunities are endless – a feast for the eyes and soul.

October is when the harvest winds down. Farmers have baled their hay for livestock to eat through the winter. Fertilizer (liquid manure) has been spread on the fields so that winter snow can break it down and enrich the soil for next year’s crops. Work never stops for farmers, but many do find time for a little recreation.

Being a rural farming area, it’s always fun to find out what people are up to. Every year there’s a plowing competition. Some compete with tractors, others with true horsepower like these two gentlemen. Skill is measured in the distance plowed, the consistent depth of the rows, and straightness. It is fascinating to watch and definitely requires well-trained and responsive horses, a good eye, and strength in both men and horses. It’s a tribute to times past when this was how it was done without power tractors, satellite GPS to lay out the path, and so on. Those were the times when farms were diverse and self-sufficient as opposed to many of today’s specialized ‘factory farms’.

This is the season when things begin to slow down. Tiny churches in small rural communities are surrounded by colourful trees, and mother nature is slowing tucking everyone in for the season that will follow.

Corn has been harvested – either for human consumption or as cattle feed for the winter. The stalks will be cut down and either chopped up as feed or turned into the soil to add nutrients back for the next growing season.

Little asters still blooming in the ditches provide a resting place and some food for passing bees.

Fall is the time for preparation for the winter, remembering hot, sultry summer days, and getting ready to deal with the following season. In the meantime, a little recreation is a good thing.

Everyone gets in on the action, including wives and family dogs!

Soon Mother Nature will strip the trees bare, their colourful leaves melting into the earth providing nutrients for the soil and shelter for the small critters that hide there from the winter storms, cold and snow.

Enjoy the season while it lasts – it’s far too short!