2009 Fall Garden Harvest
Tuesday | 06 October 2009
As much as I love this time of year, it is always bittersweet when the garden harvest is over. It seems like just weeks ago we started eating crisp peppers, soft tomatoes, string beans and peas. (Actually, we didn’t eat any peas but the birds were really happy about them.) Now it is fall and this week we brought in the last of the squash and pumpkins.I still have some basil tucked under some tomatoes, but the rest is turning dark from the frost. All the squash and tomatoes are being canned or frozen to enjoy during the winter, but the plants are dropping down back into the Earth to rest and replenish for next year. For me, this is the miracle time of year: as the Earth pulls its physical forces inward, plants drop leaves and sink into the ground. The physical world becomes restful, growth stops, and the eye turns inward. At the same time, the Earth lets out her etheric energy and space is created. It is often peaceful. We have times of silence and times of spiritual celebration.
In Fall, I remind myself to stop and witness the balance that the Earth models for us. As the season progresses, we listen carefully for the faint sound and feel of the stirrings of rebirth. That is when you will find farmers laying on the couch with seed catalogs dreaming of the next garden, the next crop, or the next new fancy we want to try! It really is a miracle time.
For those who come out to the winery during the next weeks, be sure to pick up a squash or pumpkin to take home with you!
– Barbara Steele
