On autumn and apples

I’m back. I’ve been trying to figure out what this blog will be about and I think my lack of focus is what’s kept me from posting for a while. We’ve been muddling through, learning more and more about Montreal and Quebec. I’ll try to do the same here…and hopefully gain some sound footing on this blog and out there.

Everyone we meet laughs when they hear we’ve moved here from California, and then asks if we’ve experienced winter yet, I’m starting to worry that the next 6 months will be like life on the Arctic tundra. This fear is making me want to make the most of autumn in and around Montreal so two weeks ago, fearful that fall color had possibly peaked out in the country, I announced that we were going apple picking and leaf-gazing. A smarter person would have checked the weather first; a really smart person would have suggested a rain check.

 

One of the very cool things about living in Montreal is that it only takes a short drive to be out in the country. So despite the cold and rain, we decided to go ahead with the plan. As we were driving, we noticed that the fall colors were still pretty muted, a few yellow leaves, but not the spectacular reds and oranges that we were hoping to see. We drove about 40 minutes to Rougemont, found an orchard and went picking. Unfortunately, picking apples in the pouring rain in 40-degree weather isn’t as fun as it sounds. Every time I reached up to pick an apple off a branch, cold water poured down the sleeve of my raincoat. Since we are total amateurs at this weather stuff, we filled our bag in 10 minutes and bolted back to the car.

Since we were in apple country, we had to check out a vinaigerie. I love vinegar and can happily drink it straight from the bottle. We sampled 3 different vinegars and bought one of each. I was a sniffling mess from a freakish allergy attack, and the kind vinegar lady told me to go home and gargle with the vinegar.

So…cider time! Determined to squeeze every possible apple-related activity out of this misguided field trip, we spent some time in an unheated metal shed, drinking (excellent) hard cider and stealing their Kleenex. At this point, we were cold and wet, I was sneezing every 14 seconds, and we smelled like wet dogs. It occurred to us that perhaps the constant sneezing and nose-blowing meant we should call it a day.

A week later, fully recovered and sneeze-free, I announced that we were heading back out. This time the weather cooperated with a gorgeous, warm, Indian summer weekend. We drove 45 minutes to Parc National d’Oka in the Laurentides and took a walk. It was a perfect fall day: brilliant colors, leaves crunching underfoot, blue skies.

As we were walking along the trail, Husband calmly says, “Hey check out the snake.” There, cruising right across my path was a large garter snake. Gah, just typing that makes my skin crawl. Needless to say, I swore, jumped about 12 feet backwards while husband starting laughing at me. But seriously, he’s been married to me for 7 years…how did he think I’d react?

After I overreacted to the snake, we decided to go apple picking again since the weather was so beautiful. Two adults with no canning experience clearly need a car full of apples. We picked a large bag of Macintoshes, Cortlands, and Empires. The crisper drawer is full, and I think Husband put some in long-term storage in the basement. I expect that there will be apples showing up in muffins, cakes, salads, sandwiches and slaws for the foreseeable future. I wonder if the dogs would eat some?

Back in the city, we went to Mont Royal for more fall color. Apparently I just can't get enough. I just hope it’ll last a few more weeks before life on the tundra begins.