Fall is one of Rose's favorite times of the year. Today she is going to Grandma's farm to help harvest the pumpkins. Grandma sells that at a Farmer's Market, and every year she pays Rose and Brubby to help harvest the pumpkins, wash them off, and load them into the back of Grandpa's pickup truck. Rose always gets to pick out as many pumpkins as she wants to take home for decorating. Mother always lets Rose and Brubby decorate their front porch with pumpkins, cornstalks, and gourds. This year, Dad made a wagon out of an old fruit crate, and Rose intends to fill it with pumpkins! In Northern New York, fall is always a great time. Summer is over, and there aren't any more swimming parties or picnics. But that doesn't mean the fun is over! Hay rides, haunted houses, haybale mazes, pumpkin picking, apple picking, and cider are just a few of the treats to come. Of course, there is also leaf raking, putting the garden away for the winter, and packing up the grill--but even so, Fall is a great time for all! Mother and Grandma spend a lot of time in the kitchen, canning the harvests of tomatoes, green beans, corn, beets, and pickles. Grandpa always makes his batch of famously hot chili sauce, and Grandma always puts up corn relish and spaghetti sauce. Dad is trying out something new--he grew peas and left them on the plant instead of picking them. Now he has the plants hanging upside down in the shed to dry. Mother and Grandma told him he would be lucky to get enough dried peas to make one batch of soup, but Dad wanted to try it anyways. In the cellar, Dad has also set up the big screen tables--long boxes with screens for bottoms, propped on sawhorses. Mother and Dad will spread out the potatoes from the garden on these tables, and keep an eye on them for any bad ones that may have gotten in. In Grandma's pantry, big ropes of large yellow onions are hanging in a cool, dark corner. Grandma even has one shelf full of winter squash. One of them will be used for Thanksgiving dinner! |