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:

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 .....

All Hallows Even

Jack-o-lanterns

“Halloween”, or Hallowe’en” shortened from “All Hallows Even” is the evening before Hallomas or All Hallows Day which falls on November 1st..

Hallowe’en (October 31) activities happen mostly in the evening. Traditional theme colours are orange and black. Prior to Hallowe'en evening decorations such as carved pumpkins (jack-o-lanterns) are placed in windows and by doorways. Children go trick-or-treating in the early evening and later families gather for bonfires and/or fireworks displays.

Black and orange decorations (above and below)

I liked this mix of leaves with the webs

Trick-or-treating involves dressing in costume and  going from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.  Trick-or-treating may have come from the Hallomas medieval practice of the poor going from door to door to receive food  in exchange for saying prayers for the dead.

Pumpkins ready for carving

The carving of jack-o'-lanterns dates from the custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory. The turnip was traditionally used in Ireland and Scotland at Hallowe'en, but in North America pumpkins are used because they are more readily available and easier to carve because they are bigger and hollow. If you carve a pumpkin, you may want to put the seeds aside for roasting (just wash them, let them dry overnight, then coat them lightly in oil and salt and roast at 275 F for about 1 hour).

My carved pumpkin

Pumpkins range in size and shape, but now there is also a white pumpkin available. The white or albino pumpkin is also called a Ghost or Casper pumpkin.

Ghost pumpkins above and below

Colourful pumpkin display

Costumes for Hallowe’en once were largely monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils but today often also include characters from popular shows or movies like Darth Vader and Spiderman as well as ghouls and zombies.

Decorations range from simple, just a carved pumpkin, to elaborate, where front yards are made to look like graveyards or haunted houses. Some people must spent days getting their displays ready, there are one or two quite elaborate displays in our neighbourhood that kids of all ages stop by to have a look at.

Skeleton Lights

Gargoyle statues

I usually do quite simple decorations for Hallowe'en, saving the over the top decorating for Christmas. My carved pumpkin never seems very imaginative and often looks a bit like it was carved by someone with no opposible thumbs.

Firecrackers, even though not strictly legal here (fireworks OK), can be heard on Hallowe'en as well as a week or two either side of the day. Fireworks displays, often organized within neighbourhoods, keep the kids and adults entertained after the treat-or-treating is done.

Happy Hallowe'en to all, but remember to keep the gore in check, it scares the little ones, and to keep your pets safe inside.

Continuing with the orange and black theme colours, here a a few pictures from a weekend visit to the south Okanagan Valley's wine region and the neighbouring Similkameen Valley wine region. It is harvest time but most grapes are late this year because of the cool spring and early summer.  These two areas have a number of our favourite wineries which my husband visits twice a year to buy wine and talk to the owners.  In future posts I will tell you about some of them.  Both valleys are worth exploring for the interesting wines and the wonderful produce grown there.

Bright orange squash

Squash including "Spotted Swan"

Ripe sunflower head

Almost black grapes still hanging on vines

Beautiful foliage

Misty morning

Fall grasses still damp from the mist

The birds were eager to sample the grapes still on the vines and can be seen flying in large flocks.

House finch high on the wires

Starlings were flying around in large flocks

Vineyard in fall colour

Black Bugbane in bloom

Special Offer - 

Cards by the dozen - $36.00 for 12 (plus postage and handling)
Follow this link for Seasonal and greeting cards: http://pswhimsy.myshopify.com/collections/greeting-cards/

Follow this link for Thought for Food cards:
http://pswhimsy.myshopify.com/collections/thought-for-food/

Coming this weekend:

October 30, 11am -2pm:

ART SHOW @ Knox Fellowship Hall

My painting friends and I will be having an art show and sale at Knox Fellowship Hall on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

Knox Fellowship Hall is located beside Knox United Church at 5600 Balaclava Street, one block east of Blenheim just north of 41st Avenue.

There will be a variety of media (watercolour, acrylic, oil), subjects and sizes of original work and light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there.

I will be featuring mostly cards (Christmas, food and Nature) but will have a couple of new paintings as well.

Thank you for visiting my blog and happy "Whimsy Wednesday".