Merry Meet and good afternoon! I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying a great weekend. In my time zone, Mabon or the Autumn Equinox is during the night tonight at 3:50am. It’s officially Autumn, and the time of equal balance of day and night. My favorite time of year, as those of you who know me or have followed me any length of time, know! I’m normally squealing with glee, but here in Ohio we have had incredibly hot, dry days for way too long, with no real end in sight. Upper 80’s and even 90’s are in the forecast clear up into October. This is not normal and I for one feel really disgruntled by it. I need Summer to be gone!
The dryness especially will effect our Autumn color. The leaves are seriously just turning brown and crunchy and falling off the trees like crazy. Garden beds look dismal or empty as people have given up on watering and just yanked everything out. Including me. My last herbal harvest will be pretty pitiful. It’s just been too hard to keep them watered and growing. People seem to be grumpy and dragging in energy etc….me too. It’s all very sad and disheartening.
However, despite all this, I’ve decided to pretend it’s Fall. Candles are lit instead of fires. I’ve Fall cleaned my house. I’m decorating the house this week, and will go buy my mums, pumpkins and apples and just try to pretend it’s in the 60’s instead of the 80’s. The flannel sheets will have to wait but otherwise this house is going to be all Autumnal, damn it! LOL! I also am doing some baking, some crockpot cooking and of course, preparing to celebrate Mabon. My sweaters are ready to be worn as well!
Some of my discouragement has been that I’ve injured my left knee pretty badly. It’s been about 8 weeks now and despite resting, elevating, icing, x-rays and cortisone shots there’s no real improvement. I can hobble around ok but too much of it puts me down for too long! So now I’m off for an MRI this week…..some talk it may be a torn meniscus, or seriously torn tendons/ligiments that aren’t healing. But, being laid up in this heat isn’t the worse thing. I’ve read, crocheted, caught up on shows, organized, purged, worked on my BOS and also just seriously rested….all of that is a good thing. See…..you can always find the positive in most situations 🙂
So Mabon is here and it’s pretty shocking in my older age how fast that wheel turns. Though we’re hot and dry, I can still see all the signs of Fall. Mostly in the cooler nights, and mornings. The critters are gathering like crazy. Birds gather and feed at feeders. Kids are settled back in school and all the after school and weekend sports are in full swing. The Sun and Moon and have moved their positions in the sky. The winds have changed. There’s some color on some trees. This brings me hope that soon temps will drop and I’ll have those lovely crisp, Fall days and cool, inky dark nights. I can’t wait!
My Mabon Altar 2019
My coven isn’t gathering for this Sabbat but we will meet up soon just to visit with each other. Too many of us couldn’t make it or had other plans. So my celebration will be solitary. I’ll greet the Sun which will start slowly spending less time with me each day. I’ll greet the lovely Moon Goddess who will spend MORE time with me. I’ll make an apple dessert and plan on a good healthy meal. Altar work will recognize that it’s the Witch’s Thanksgiving. I’ll thank Goddess for the blessings in my life, and despite my complaining about life right now, I am very blessed and know it. As I come up on the 2nd anniversary of my daughter Sara’s passing, I also send my love to her in my altar work as well. Goddess carries those messages to her often. How do you celebrate this lovely Sabbat?
So I promised you all a recipe. This is a new recipe to me I tried and it’s yum. Mabon and September just scream apples and this fits the bill! It’s super moist and the streusel topping is to die for!
Apple Pie Streusel Bread
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded, peeled apple (about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
½ cup raisins
1 Recipe Streusel-Nut Topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar until combined. Add buttermilk and baking powder; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour and salt; beat until combined. Stir in apple, nuts, and raisins.
Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.
*Um…I did not let it cool completely and did not wrap and store overnight before slicing lol. It just was a bit soft and didn’t do a firm slice….but who cares!
Makes 1 loaf
Streusel-Nut Topping
¼ cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecan
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts or pecans.
I wish for each of you a beautiful, magickal Mabon. May Autumn be in your heart if it hasn’t yet arrived in temperatures. Fall WILL come.. even if it’s only a few of those glorious, crisp, blue sky, colorful days. Relish them when they arrive! Blessings to you all!
Autumn Fires
by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Blessings and Love,
Autumn ❤
tion on Pandora, watching leaves blowing around my yard, the Sun shining and birds at the feeders and chipmunks and squirrels gathering. It’s a gorgeous day after two days of much needed rain. Quite cool, quite autumnal, and I’m feeling happy and blessed.
My Moonlit Path..... 