09/03/2026
The Real Signs Fall Is Coming to Fish Hawk Acres
Forget the leaves changing.
Around here, we know fall is coming by a completely different set of warning signs.
The apples start arriving.
Someone says the word pumpkin and suddenly it appears in breads, cakes, cookies, lattes, desserts and probably something savory nobody asked for.
The catering sheets begin multiplying on the desk like somebody left two of them alone overnight.
The walk-in gets fuller.
The kitchen gets louder.
And every available horizontal surface slowly disappears beneath sheet pans, hotel pans, boxes, cutting boards, produce, paperwork and things labeled:
DO NOT TOUCH. THIS IS FOR SATURDAY.
Which, naturally, guarantees someone will touch it.
September is the month when we stop communicating in normal sentences and start speaking almost entirely in numbers.
“How many?”
“One fifty.”
“Which one?”
“Saturday.”
“Hot or cold?”
“Both.”
“Pickup?”
“No. Full service.”
And somehow everyone knows exactly what conversation we’re having.
Coffee consumption increases dramatically.
Someone is always looking for a Sharpie.
Someone else is yelling, “WHO MOVED THIS?”
There are apples everywhere.
Peppers are still coming in from the farm like summer hasn’t received the eviction notice.
Tomatoes are hanging on with admirable determination.
Squash begins showing up in quantities that suggest we may have accidentally planted for the entire county.
And then there are the weekends.
That’s when the real autumn migration begins.
Cambros get loaded.
Tables get counted.
Serving utensils get packed.
Food gets wrapped, labeled, loaded, unloaded, reheated, served and somehow returned to Fish Hawk Acres along with approximately three spoons nobody recognizes and one lid that fits absolutely nothing we own.
By October, we have completely lost track of time.
Monday feels like Thursday.
Thursday feels like Saturday.
Saturday feels like it has been happening for three consecutive days.
And somebody will inevitably walk into the kitchen and ask:
“What are we doing next weekend?”
Nobody likes that person.
But underneath all the chaos, there’s something we love about this time of year.
The kitchen smells like apples and cinnamon.
The ovens stay busy.
The farm starts changing.
People gather for weddings, dinners, celebrations and all the things that bring everybody around a table.
And we get to feed them.
So yes, you can watch the mountains for the first red leaves if you want to know when fall has arrived in West Virginia.
At Fish Hawk Acres, we have another system.
If there are apples on the counter, six catering sheets taped to the wall, a pumpkin dessert in the oven and absolutely nowhere left to set down your coffee...
Fall is officially here.