The colors of fall in BC are not those of the East. Trees do their best to change foliage, but with so many evergreens around, it’s a loosing battle.

There are, however, other treats to be found by curious eyes. Autumn is cranberry harvest time, BC being the second biggest cranberry producer in North America.

Cranberries are cultivated mostly in Richmond where the close proximity of the Fraser River allows massive use of water. The cranberries are grown in large fields (or bogs) which are then flooded at harvest time. The brushes are shaken manually or mechanically and the berries, separated from the plants, simply… float up to the surface where they form the most extraordinary fields of red.

They are then gathered and collected, a process which I witnessed a few days ago. The camera went wild. Those men slowly plowing through waist deep water in a red sea of berries are quite an amazing sight.

I had been waiting for this season to come since early last spring; here is the result of my patience…