Tag: seasons

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planting bulbs of growth

With the approach of Samhain, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want out of the coming year. The last two years have been among the most difficult in my memory, or at least that’s the way they feel to me right now. I know we tend to romanticize the past which casts today in the role of being more real, but really, look at what we’ve lived through in recent years.

So, what do I want?

There are the things I always want: to get out of debt, to lose weight, to become a best selling author…but for me, for this year, I want to address things that are tangible, that are attainable.

I feel I am in a good place as I face into the next rotation around the sun. I’m in a good job with good people doing work that I enjoy. I have what I need and a lot of what I want. What would make life better?

More organization, especially around the house.

Stop procrastinating, especially the little things.

Spend more time with friends, which is necessarily impacted by the pandemic and my own agoraphobia.

Read more. I have a stack of books in my TBR pile that I’ve been meaning to read all year, but I’ve been hampered by the notion that the time spent reading should be spent doing something more productive.

I haven’t nailed down what I’m planting this Samhain, clearly. But I can feel the veil thinning, I can sense the strong strum of a heart that *wants*. Good thing I have a few weeks to figure it all out, I guess.

What are you putting into the fertile soil for the coming year, Readers?

On that note, I need to jump on that day job thing. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

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the taste of autumn

There is just the hint of autumn on the air this week. It is different here in California from the autumns I remember as a kid. Back then, this time of year brought the smell of dry leaves and apple cider, the cool temperatures that kissed the grass with frost in the early mornings and the expectation of a new school year, which itself came with new clothes and supplies (yes, my love of pens and notebooks started early).

Here, as we creep out of summer and into autumn, the nights turn cool while the days stay warm. There is no demarcation of a new year to celebrate because the work year runs along without that summer playing in the sun or the start of school, and as adults, I no longer have to wait for September for new clothes (or pens and notebooks).

The night begins to slowly overtake the day, the sun sinking earlier in the day and the nights a little bit longer each day until Yule. Tomorrow marks the Pagan holiday of Mabon, a time of rest and reflection when the harvest is done and stored up for the winter. It is a good time for physical and mental house keeping. Clear out the clutter and sweep out the cobwebs.

I’ve got a little taste of autumn in my coffee this morning, with some Death Wish Pumpkin Chai and some hazelnut creamer. And, I’ve got an hour or so to write before I embark on the day job. I call that a good start to a Monday.

Hope the day treats you well, Readers!

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

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the autumn of innocence

I was born in September. I don’t know if that has any bearing on my love for autumn, but I like to believe it does. In my Upstate New York childhood, autumn meant new school clothes and supplies (I still love new notebooks and pens and markers and folders and, and, and…), the smell of dry leaves and cider, and the excitement of Halloween. The highlight of October was the annual trip to Kelly’s Farm to pick out our pumpkins and get fresh brewed cider and old fashioned donuts.

While the innocence of that time has gone, and the world is a different place today than it was then, there is a certain wonder to the autumn months still. I sometimes miss the New York autumns, especially here in California where we basically get two seasons, Summer and Not-Summer. Sure we have leaves on the ground and the mornings and nights are cooler, and sometimes even cold, but the true fall colors don’t happen here, unless you travel up into the mountains.

We’re into the time of year here that means long pants and long sleeves in the morning, tank tops and shorts by noon and the air conditioner in the late afternoon. I go to bed with the fan blowing and not even the sheet pulled over me and wake up under blankets chilled.

Last night I refreshed my altar for my ancestors as sort of an invitation. The veil between worlds is thinning as we approach Samhain and I welcome them to visit.

Samhain, and Halloween for that matter, will be different this year, I imagine. For me it is usually a quiet holiday, being the my front door doesn’t face the street, but just the sheer number of newly dead this year…loved ones to be remembered and honored…changes the tenor of the day. This was true for me the Samhain after 9/11, and this is so much more, so many more dead, and many of them left this world bereft of human touch, without the ones they loved by their side.

On that somber note, I wish each of you a lovely week and the kindness and compassion that changes lives. I’m off for more coffee and to log into work. May this autumn be one of a better harvest.

Cover Photo by Dennis Buchner on Unsplash