At some point most mornings, after I've gotten my first round of tasks accomplished, I listen to WAMC, our local public radio station, or check out the NPR website to learn of the day's news. I do this with great trepidation these days, fearful of what new outrageous story has surfaced and dreading the latest environmental/social & racial injustice/human rights/reproductive injustice news. It is quite dispiriting. But right now I can put it in a larger context.
We are heading toward All Hallow's Eve, which is an astronomical/astrological cross quarter day. We have summer and winter solstice, the days of the most sun and the least sun. We have spring and autumn equinox - the days halfway between the solstices when we have approximately equal amounts of sunlight and darkness. But between those 4 days we have cross quarter days, which are the days halfway between each equinox and solstice.
For me, All Hallow's Eve represents a time of letting go and surrendering, and beginning a quieter and more introspective time. We're on the tail end of our manic autumn rush....harvesting, preserving, readying Amy's thousands of nursery plants for winter, tending to firewood, and diving into getting-ready-for-winter chores. The fall raspberries are offering their final delicious gifts of the year. We'll harvest the last of our cabbage and onions and continue pulling leeks into the winter's days. I yearn for some time to be quiet and slow, to allow myself moments to integrate and connect what has kept me so busy these past months.
It feels like the world, many of our friends & families, our earth, our bodies are all going through hardship and challenge right now. As the earth prepares to go dormant, as the leaves fall and the annual plants make seeds and die, I'm reminded of this seasonal frailty. I see the annual plants disappear and the perennial plants going underground for the winter. It takes a leap of faith to believe that our world will again turn green, busting with new life in the spring. We have so many loved ones experiencing very difficult medical issues right now. It seems like half the people I see in my daily life have a recurring/not-letting-go cold that torments us. Our political scene is in a turmoil unlike any I've seen in my lifetime. News of the physical manifestations of the climate crisis devastate lives daily in such a multitude of ways from fire to flooding to extreme weather and massive species extinction.
But I look around at the remaining stunning autumn colors. I think about planting our garlic cloves that will turn into food next summer. I feel the glorious sunlight on my face, the cool autumn breeze blowing through my hair, and the beautiful quality of the autumn light and am reminded that I am okay right now. In this moment I can see a dozen blessings from my desk chair.
In the face of such challenges I ponder, what can I do? As always, if I can convince myself not to fall into the trap of complexity, it is simple. I can cook and eat nourishing foods and get as much sleep as possible. I can spend time with loved ones. I can take a walk with Amy. I can think of one thing I can do to ease the hardship for one person....and do it. I can make medicine from the plants growing all around me and use it in my own life and share it with others. And, as is ever true, I can cook and I can feed people. Thank you for the opportunity.
Community Supported Foods Members AND A La Carte Customers:
click here for this week's menu
For Carly's Cupboard click here for this week's offering
Amy's Nursery, Wing & A Prayer Nursery is
open for business on Sundays and Mondays, 9-3, or by appointment (call 413-634-5659 or email us). Here is the
current list of plants. All of Amy's plants have been chosen for their usefulness to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. We hope you will stop in for a visit and to chat about how to improve your garden habitat for pollinators. The bees and butterflies are out and about and magic is afoot!
Please visit our website at
www.aliceskitchenathoneyhill.com. It is a joy to provide delicious, nourishing, and beautiful foods, prepared with care and love, for our community.
