Fall in Toronto

I flew to Texas for my cousin's wedding on Friday, and when I left for the airport, it was almost freezing (1 C). It felt like the end of fall coming all too quickly.  Living in Minnesota, it always seemed the last day of summer was Labor Day, but having lived in NY where fall starts much later, I was hoping the cool weather in Toronto would hold off.  Unfortunately, following our hot summer, fall started abruptly and immediately after Labor Day (high around 62F on 9/8), and each day has brought more bright colors, bare trees, and Uggs.

From what I hear and see, this fall has been cooler than normal (I'm hopeful that is true).  The average high temperature in September is 21C and October is 14C, but many days have been much cooler.  We bought a heater to put on our deck – one of those propane heaters you find at all of the restaurants - hoping this will prolong our time outside this fall.  Considering the chill we’ve had some days, people here still enjoy what they can outside.  I see the kids in gym class outside (though it seems like they should be wearing more than t-shirts and shorts), and many of the restaurants still have their outdoor seating and heaters going, which seems important for businesses considering the outside space can double their available seating.

One thing I love to do in the fall is head to an apple orchard.  We were able to enjoy a great fall day outside of the city at Pine Farm Orchards drinking cider, picking apples, looking for their so-called fruit winery, which we never found.  It is a beautiful drive once you get out of the city (though with traffic it took over 45 minutes just to get on to the highway).  It is definitely worth checking out, and there are several others around the GTA.  There are also many festivals in the fall including the largest Oktoberfest celebration in North America, which unfortunately we weren’t able to make it to this year.  The farmers markets, which mostly come to a close this week except a few open all year, have been full of apples, pears, brussel sprouts (my very favorite, seriously!), squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, beets, etc.  I love seeing the seasons change through the produce.

With Halloween coming this weekend, it seems that Torontonians brace, just like Minnesotans, for the possible freeze or snow that causes kids to cover up their costumes with heavy jackets.  Here’s hoping for a few more weeks before that happens!