“Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields,
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring
Come to us, Lord of Harvest
Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us …”
– Autumn Equinox Ritual
Merry Meet my friends! Autumn has arrived here in Ohio! Even though Mabon isn’t until the 23rd, Autumn is here none the less. I for one, couldn’t be more Happy about it! My favorite time of year!! Already I feel like a heavy load has been lifted. The heat and humidity of Summer makes me feel heavy, weighed down, and tired. I am energized as the cool days and even cooler nights are upon us. We have had our first (and second and third) fires in the fireplace! There is nothing more cozy to me than a fire on an Autumn evening.
My oven has been busy with baking. My crockpot is on the counter permanently, garden beds are cleaned up of flowers that are spent and I’m about to harvest a huge amount of herbs..most of them for the last time this year. Summer couch covers are washed and put away, warm blankets have been brought out, the chimney and furnace have been inspected and cleaned, a cord of wood has been ordered, and Winter clothes are in the closets and Summer clothes put away for next year. Autumn cleaning is near finished.
We are seeing some color in the leaves already as I showed you on my last posting. Some trees have lost their leaves completely, but there is LOTS of color still to come. Bees still abound in my gardens. Birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and other ground animals are gathering frantically. This morning I had a huge amount of activity at my bird and squirrel feeders. I had a couple dozen mourning doves, a pair of cardinals, 3, yes 3! male blue jays, a Flicker woodpecker and multiple finches, sparrows and other small birds. Our white squirrel Luna, other gray squirrels and several chipmunks were also scurrying and gathering! It was wonderful to watch. I still have my hummingbird feeder up for migrating hummers, but we haven’t seen one for a few days now. If you don’t already, please think about feeding these animals and birds…to help them through the long hard Winter we are being promised again this year. You will get so much pleasure out of it!
My Mabon altar is set up and plans are made for my Circle/Tribe to meet on Sunday evening here. There will be an outdoor fire, weather permitting, desserts, spiced cider and good company! Several of us are also attending our local Pagan festival on Saturday which we are looking forward to. For several of us, it’s our first time to go! I am usually on vacation this time of year so haven’t been able to attend. I can’t wait!
Yesterday, I was flipping through a Taste of the South magazine and came across a recipe that sounded so yummy I thought I’d share it here with you. It sounds soooo spicy and good for Fall! The picture is theirs as well.
Orange-Cardamom Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1⁄2 cups sugar
1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Orange Glaze (recipe follows)
Another amazing blog post my sweet sister! You and I both feel like complete human beings as the cooler temps come in. Of course I am still waiting even tho’ not too patiently. Your recipes sound amazing and I am sure are absolutely delicious. And of course the Altar is magickal indeed! Thanks again for your wonderful words. They inspire me! Love you!
Thank you so much Sis. I know you are most anxious for your weather to catch up with mine! Hope it comes soon! Hugs and Love!!
An awesome read ❤ I totally appreciate the time and love you put into your blog. This post made me feel very warm and cozy and actually excited for autumn and the winter that is to come afterward! I use to be rather negative about autumn and winter but on the path of a witch and following the patterns of Mother Nature…I have learned greatly that each season plays an important role in our lives ^_^ thank you for such wonderful posts!
Hello Shai…thank you so much! You are right…each Season has it’s merits to a Witch! We all love something more about one or the other, but they all hold Magick! Thank you so much for both reading my blog and taking the time to comment 🙂 Hope you come back too!!
♥
❤ Dee…miss you!!! Thank you!! Love you!
Oh Yum, just the word “cardamom” makes me happy. Such a wonderful (and expensive) spice it is. Our summer continues here, cool nights, hot days. It feels like autumn, still. It smells like autumn, too. Lovely….
I must confess dear HappyCrone that I have not cooked a lot with cardamom but this recipe I think will change that for me 🙂 I hope you get cooler days soon too my friend! Hugs and thanks so much for stopping by again. I so appreciate it! ❤
the cooler air is nice, love the recipe, hope to try this out. Hugs!!! ❤
Blessed Mabon dear Jennifer! Let me know if you try it!! Hugs and Love!
The Orange Cardamom Bread sounds fabulous! I will have to try the recipe. Thanks for another great blog post.
Thank you so much Inari for reading me 🙂 and I think the bread sounds amazing too! Hugs!! Blessed Mabon!!