Wisconsin Autumn = rad

Since I'm such a seasoned Wisconsinite [ahem] and have been here a whopping year and four months, it's my duty to share the glorious parts of this state. That way when I start to whine about the horrendous winters you can't say it's all bad up here, because it isn't. It's just a little rough from November to April, that's all.

Anywho, where was I last fall? I know I lived here but I sure as heck don't remember the gorgeous leaves and the crisp air like I've noticed this year. Maybe I was still too busy acclimating to this new climate to notice that Wisconsin puts on quite the show in the fall. Love it. Visitors welcome in October, that's for sure.

On Sunday Nate and I ventured to a little fruit farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Not only was it entertaining to watch Nate leap for the highest apples but it was incredibly cheap: a huge bag of apples for only $10, pumpkins for $2 each, and the most pimped out carmel apple for $2.50:) 


Here are some of the reject Jonagolds fallen to the ground. 
And here are a whole bunch of Ira Reds laying low. Not sure what they do with all of these guys? Makes a pretty picture though!
Now technically they had ladders available 'at your own risk' but Nate thought that was the easy way out. He preferred to jump and grunt and nearly twist his ankle for the likes of these beautiful babies:
Irresistible! 

Then all of a sudden I heard, "Aw heck yeah!" and thought he must have found a real beaut. Sure enough, the boy found a freakin $20 bill on the ground! Nobody was around so we couldn't exactly be good samaritans and return it. We really like this apple orchard now:)


Tons of Jonagolds and Ira Reds = yummy treats for lunch. Plus we went ahead and bought some of the pre-picked Mackintoshes for an apple pie. Who knows how we'll manage to bake an apple pie but we gotta learn sometime, right?

I mean, it was basically a perfect day. Isn't this a pretty picture?

Next we headed over to the pumpkin patch. Nate intensely scouting out the perfect pumpkin:


I was quite fond of these little guys, myself.

But then I found a near perfect one, fit to be carved:

But there were so many to choose from we each took one home. I like to get artsy with the camera sometimes. 
Besides the fun Autumn activities up here, we are at the peak of changing leaves. In fact, I think we are probably past the peak since quite a few have already lost them...but I snapped these pictures one day on my way to work last week. I was totally that crazy girl parking her car and taking random pictures in odd locations, all because I was drooling over the colors. 

Here is our tree-lined street full of golden bliss. 
MUCH better than this shot I took in March, right? ::shudder::
Okay, let's stay in the present. Here is a gorgeous tree across the street a few days ago:
And here it is now, already ditching some of the green:


Love it!
When the sun comes out and hits the leaves it makes me want to cry [slightly dramatic, I know].
On the way to work, I found this guy:
And this bunch at a cemetery. Although it was a little creepy to take pictures here I'm so glad I did---this orange has to be my favorite:


But let's not forget about the yellows:
This could be a postcard, don't you think?
And walking up to the hospital on a picture perfect day:
Fall berries of some sort:
Mmmm, love this one. 
Here is the view from my floor in the hospital. This shot really doesn't do it justice but you get the idea. 
Some night this week, we are going to attempt that apple pie and pumpkin carving. I also want to roast the pumpkin seeds even though I have no clue where to begin with that, either. At least I'm trying to channel my inner Martha, right?

What is your favorite part of Autumn? The leaves? The smell in the air? Returning to yummy soups and chili and hearty meals like that? I'm loving it all right now. 






24 comments:

  1. Your pictures are so pretty! And, you're right. Fall in WI is definitely something worthwhile.

    Roasting pumpkin seeds is so, so easy. Just rinse them off, put them on a cookie sheet, season and bake until golden. And, yummy!

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  2. Seems like we both enjoyed a beautiful Fall weekend. I love all your pictures, such gorgeous colors.

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  3. What beautiful photos, Julia!! I LOVE fall, too. Driving down the street with the leaves scattering and falling makes me feel like I'm in a movie. It's just too bad it goes so, so fast - we have to savor every moment!

    I'm glad you liked the fruit farm, it looks like you had fun! And a $20 bill on the ground?! That is so sweet!!!

    Enjoy your apples and pumpkins. :)

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  4. GORGEOUS! It makes me miss the New England season change since here in Charlotte it's not quite the same.

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  5. Ok, Julia. Where on earth did you go apple picking??? Jim and I went two weeks ago to our same old orchard and ended up paying $35 for a half bushel!!! It hurt..it physically hurt to hand over those two $20's. We're searching high and low for a new orchard next year.

    And yes, autumn is my all time favorite season. In fact, I recall being a cry baby when Jim didn't propose with enough time to plan a fall wedding, which is what I wanted since I was a little girl. Oh well, at least we had our engagement pics taken in the heart of autumn :)

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  6. just found your blog and love it!

    The leaves in your pics are beautifu! It's still pretty warm here in the South. I can't wait for the leaves to change here!

    Great blog!

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  7. So beautiful!!! I was just thinking about heading up to Door County next weekend to check out the leaves and have a little Fall Fun!

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  8. I love fall, it is my favorite season. You've definitely got some frame worthy photos there!

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  9. Love the pics! We went and picked apples a couple weekends ago and it cost us a fortune! Wish we could find a place to get a good deal.

    Toasting pumpkins seeds is seriously so easy. Rinse, mix with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then bake. Good luck!

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  10. Wait, you mean it's not summer anymore?

    You're so lucky. There are no distinct seasons here. It's either summer or not summer (3/4 of the year it's summer). The pictures are so lovely! I'll just live vicariously through your photographs.

    Oh, and *virtual high-five* on finding the $20 at the farm! Guess that means you got all your apples and pumpkins for freesies!

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  11. I puked a little in my mouth when I saw that pic from March.

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  12. Wow the colors are BEAUTIFUL!!!!

    I posted a pie recipe a month or so ago. It has a crumbly topping and is DELICIOUS!!!

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  13. One more tip about Pumpkin seeds. I have found you get the best rests if you let them dry out overnight after you wash off the pumpkin "guts". Then just toss in butter or a little salt.

    Also if you want some different varitations, allrecipes has some spicy and different flavored versions.

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  14. Wow! Amazing photos! You are such a talented photographer! I love that you guys went apple picking, what a creative date!

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  15. AHHHHHHHH!!!!! I am sooooo jealous!!!! Beautiful pictures!

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  16. Ummm, I love all of the above!

    Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! And I definitely think that has a lot to do with growing up/living in WI.

    And I second Andrea's plea for the orchard info! They are usually so expensive.

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  17. Did you go to Barthel Fruit Farm? That's where I usually go, and your pictures look really familiar. Although, I'm sure most orchards look pretty similar around this time :)

    I love fall. I'm a sick puppy, and I also love winter, but fall is just beautiful. I can never get enough of the leaves. And I even like the chilly air.

    I made Apple Crumble bars, which is kind of like apple pie, but way easier. I'm trying to work up to pie, but making good pie crust is so time consuming! And I just can't bring myself to use a store bought crust with hand picked apples!

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  18. Lol at being a WI ambassador after a little over a year. :)

    The pic of you holding the bag of apples is flat out adorable. Seriously.

    I love the pic of your golden bliss. There's something about the streets being so full of beautiful leaves that they fill the sides of the road.

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  19. without a doubt, the BEST SEASON is fall. Love love love. And those photos! Gorgeous! (and, hello! $20 found! even sweeter!) Good luck with the pumpkin carving and the pie baking!!
    Great post!

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  20. Yep, it was Barthels Fruit Farm and we loved it!

    Also, I'm really excited to be Martha and make the pumpkin seeds now. Thanks for the advice everyone. Still a little frightened about the apple pie...it seems so daunting, but we'll manage.

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  21. Beautiful post! I also had to laugh out loud when you showed the snow picture of your neighborhood. It actually did make me shudder! haha

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  22. wow that's beautiful makes me want to move to Wisconsin. in Oklahoma it seems we go straight from summer to winter with like two days of fall so we miss out on all this gorgeousness.

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  23. Holy cow, those pictures are beautiful! The trees are absolutely gorgeous. And that picture of Nate doing a Pac-Man towards the apple is hilarious! I love fall.

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  24. My google reader just randomly suggested you and now I recognize you from The Knot (and some of your blogroll and commenters).

    I love it here in the fall too, and I've also lived here for a year and 4 months now.

    So anyway, hi! Beautiful pics!

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