Wednesday 31 October 2012

Harvest Time


It's Hallowe'en today. Halloween, Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve, originally All Hallows' Evening, is celebrated or observed on October 31. It may have had its roots in European harvest festivals and festivals for the dead.

I thought I would concentrate on the Harvest festival theme today.

We have recently been in both the Okanagan (South central British Columbia) and Comox Valleys (Vancouver Island) and observed the harvest in both locations.

In the Okanagan the grapes were being harvested and wineries were busy picking, sorting, crushing and pressing. The harvest is eagerly anticipated by the birds and animals too.  We saw lots of birds (starlings, robins, sparrows, quail) but deer and bear also have a taste for grapes as well as insects; fruit flies are particularly abundant at harvest time.



Wine grapes are generally smaller than table grapes and range in colour from almost white to very dark blue-purple almost black.





Many of the grapes are protected by netting in the final weeks of their ripening.



But some looters are bipedal:



Once the grapes are ready (the sugar and acid levels are tested prior to harvest) they are picked. Some grapes are hand picked, others are picked by machine. The grapes are sorted and then an auger like machine removes the stems.



The grapes are crushed ....



Then left to do their magic ...




.... and pressed and then allowed to ferment.
The colour of the wine depends on the type of grape, and how long the juice stays in contact with the skins before pressing.


Here is a stray bunch of grapes and a lady bug.


Many thanks to Virginia (Orofino Winery) for taking the time to show me the grapes and allowing me to photograph the new crush and to Michael for organizing a spectacular tasting (La Stella Winery).

Scarecrows are a harvest symbol to me. 


The apples and pears were also ready to harvest.







Artichokes add a splash of colour to large flower planters in Osoyoos .. 

and pampas grass and cacti ripen at the side of the roadway.



Now we skip over the another market on Vancouver Island to enjoy the fall bounty:
















On the Halloween theme I am sharing this link to photos of the Dunbar Haunted House in Vancouver; it is quite an elaborate display. Here is a sample  of their decorations from last year:


Pumpkin Patch

My Halloween decorations look nothing like this, just a poorly carved pumpkin and some artificial cobwebs, but then after the recent earth quake on the West Coast and the storm on the East Coast the world is quite scary enough for me as it is. I hope everyone has a safe Halloween.

Here is a picture that is almost finished. It is a watercolour and is inspired by a picture I took recently at a farmers market.


Thank you for taking the time to drop by my corner of the blogging world.

Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week .....

25 comments:

  1. What a fun visit to the winery, looks like a great tour! I loved the photos of the grapes and all the veggies, what a great harvest. Your watercolor is beautiful. Wonderful post and photos, Gillian!

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  2. All those ripe fruits and veges look amazing!

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  3. Wonderful....pastures of plenty.
    i love the aubergines. make a good painting for you.

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  4. Your photos of the harvest are beautiful and thank you for taking us on the tour of the winery.

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  5. Mmm... what delicious fruits and vegetables. This is a lovely time of year.

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  6. It's always a great pleasure to visit you Gillian ! so beautiful shots
    your painting is really gorgeous !

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  7. really pretty painting! and gorgeous colors of the harvest, too.

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  8. We tried squeezing some grapes this fall for juice, yes there are better ways, lol.

    It's our first harvest season up here in the Okanagan, what a treasure this time is...bounty everywhere.

    Love your watercolor, like always it's stunning.

    Jen

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  9. Gorgeous pictures you have taken, and what about the painting, it's marvelous, cheers Gillian.

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  10. A WONDERFUL ARRAY OF AUTUMN HARVESTS!
    "THEY LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT"!

    LOVE YOUR PUMKIN PAINTING!

    THANKS GILL FOR ALL YOUR GREAT PIC'S AND
    INTERESTING INFO!

    SEE YOU FRIDAY
    MARILYN

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  11. You brought back many memories of the nine years we lived in the Okanagan. we were surrounded by fruit trees, had a wonderful vegetable garden and our fences were grapevines. There is an abundance of home grown food in the Okanagan and it's a wonderful place to live. Thanks for sharing your interesting visit to the winery. Did you sample the wines?

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  12. I have a sudden urge to pour myself a glass of red wine and it's only 2:30 pm here. The light in all of these photos is just delicious. You never fail to treat the eyes to something wonderful with your photos and especially with your painting.

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  13. Oh my, you were in my neck of the woods. Beautiful photos!

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  14. Thanks for coming by and sorting me out with the east-west direction! I don't know what I was thinking :)

    Thanks also for sharing your tour of the winery. It's so much more interesting when the tour is a great learning experience. You have captured some beautiful harvest photos..and your painting is amazing!

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  15. You pumpkin art is so brilliant. Wonderfully done. But the photography is wonderful as well. Great symbols for this time of the year.....the eggplant has me a bit hungry:)

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  16. Hi there - the vineyard shots could be from Australia. Lovely set of autumn images.

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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  17. Great shots of Autumn harvest. I love your watercolor of the pumpkins.

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  18. Those Concord Grapes reminded me of how sweet our old grapes were on the vine, not that far from the privy. You know the roots of that vine garnered its nourishment from the pit under the privy but nobody seemed concerned and nobody ever got sick from eating those grapes.

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  19. Your post has me smiling once again. I enjoyed seeing all the photos from the winery and the vegetables looks so good at the Farmers market. And you know I am in love with your work. Your painting looks amazing.

    Hugs~

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  20. Your painting of the pumpkins glows, Gillian. That, the photo with the ladybug and the purple eggplants are three of my favourite of so many wonderful depictions. It was great, as well, to learn about the process of wine making.

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  21. Such fun visiting here ... and love your recent watercolor!

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  22. Beautiful harvest photographs! Your pumpkin painting is so lovely too...I love the light on the pumpkins...a very talented artist you are!

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  23. Thank you for sharing the fruit of your photographic labours!

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  24. A bounty of beauty in this autumn post! Gorgeous photographs and exceptional artwork!

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  25. I foresee a little vino in your cup.
    Great post!

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