Even though Fall officially started with the autumn equinox on September 23rd you can still be part of the festivals, football and all the fun that makes this time of year special. You can experience it from the glowing aspens in Vail (like those above) to the quintessential fall tree, the maple of New England. I think if one had to place a picture next to the word "autumn" it would be the maple with its fall foliage color of red, yellow and orange.
Ofcourse with the Fall comes all the festivals complete with the usual tempting foods from maple sugar candy, pumpkin pie, caramelized apples to cranberry muffins. Couple that with shorter days and a hectic autumn schedule and it can spell trouble for some of us who are trying to maintain our workout schedule and our balanced nutritional lifestyle. You have no excuses not to workout; you simply take it indoors to the gym or your house. There are
various challenging routines you can do on a treadmill to mirror those of your summer runs. You have a bike but it is not a spinning bike. Well...no whining. Go to your local bike shop and they can set you up with an indoor bike trainer. Basically, it is a piece of equipment that makes it possible for you to ride a bicycle indoors. The trainer consists of a frame of which your bike securely clamps to. Prices run the gamut from $50 (40E) to over a $1,000 (798E). Ofcourse unless you are Tour de France winner Lance Amstrong, an inexpensive trainer will do the trick. Once you get your trainer set up you can watch your favorite program or listen to music while it's snowing outside.
Autumn doesn't mean giving up all the fabulous fruits and vegetables from the summer. Autumn has her own fantastic line-up from butternut squash, cranberries, apples, walnuts, leeks to yams, pumpkins and mushrooms. This month the versatile mushroom is the featured autumn food on the nutritional site Self-size.com. Check out their mushroom guide for your fall cooking menu!!
However the one vegetable that really symbolizes this time of year is the pumpkin. No where else is the pumpkin more celebrated than the Pumpkin Festival in Keene, New Hampshire. It holds the official Guinness World Record for the "Most Jack-O'-Lanterns in One Place At One Time." The entire town of Keene is your own front porch for Halloween. All you need is a carved pumpkin, register it at the log-in tent then place your creation on Main Street for everyone to oohhh and aaahhh over. Last year the actual count was 22,157 jack-o'-lanterns. Yes, that's correct, over 20 thousand lit pumpkins along Main Street. It is quite a sight to see. The festival is October 21st and 22nd and has music, hay rides, a craft fair, costume parade and yes, a pumpkin seed spitting contest. It is a New England fall festival at its best.
I will be up in New England for the famous fall leaves and my goddaughter Lena's birthday so it should be one wild time, pumpkins and all. More to come later.
Ciao,
Angie of the Autumn
p.s.- Don't forget to check out all my latest fitness tips on Self-size.com.
