#also just autumn recipes in general

[lazylittledragon]

it felt like AUTUMN today and i’m going into it with my whole pussy so this is a call for everyone to drop me their soup recipes

[ltwilliammowett]

Cooking like a Sailor- Frisian teatime

Today it's going to be a bit Friesian again and this time the delicious treats come mainly from the North Sea islands and Halligen, where they usually originated before they floated ashore and were eaten or drunk there.

Now that we are approaching autumn with great strides, there are such delicacies. This was the time when many of the seafaring men returned home, which meant a rich harvest of specialities from foreign countries and often also the weddings were hold which were arranged the year before.

But let's start with the drink: tea punch, just the thing for the wet and cold season when it's stormy and raining outside.

Ingredients: Black tea, köm and kluntjes (brown sugar candy).

But even more important than the right ingredients are the way it is prepared and consumed. If you are in a hurry, you have no place at the tea punch table!

The tea punch is served as follows: The teapot is placed on the teapot warmer and the pre-heated bottle of Köm is placed on the table. Don't be surprised: the tea punch cups are tiny. This has nothing to do with stinginess, but with cosiness. And this is how it works: Pour tea into the cup, add a dash of köm and sugar to taste. Listen to the Kluntjes crack, stir and drink hot. Have a chat and then top up again.

This drink has existed on the islands since 1735, when a ship with tea chests stranded off Amrum at Theeknobs, although at the beginning there was no knowledge of how to prepare the tea leaves. As a result, the tea was drunk quite thinly, which was also due to the fact that tea was something special that was not always available, just like schnapps. Köm is a spirit similar to aquavit with caraway seeds. The yellow (geele) Köm is particularly common in the North Frisian region. This is a spirit, usually made with grain, which is mixed with caraway and sometimes with a hint of aniseed.

The tea punch was of course also known on ships, but here the köm was swapped for rum and the punch was used to warm up rather than for chatting. Sailors preferred to do this on land.

What do you serve with tea? Hallig Knorken or Friesenwaffeln are best. This wafer-thin delicacy has been around since the 16th century thanks to the Dutch who settled in northern Germany. They were light waffles that were made with rum and then served with plum jam and cream. Again, these delicacies were either brought by the men or had to be bartered or bought on the land, as the islands and Halligen did not have huge areas of land available for agriculture and so there was a lot of trade with the delicacies from the sea.

Ingredients for 4 people (this is the modern recipe) 4 eggs 200g sugar 250g butter 300g flour 3-4 tsp. cornflour 50ml rum 1 packet of vanilla sugar 1 pinch of salt

Bake the waffles in an iron and then serve hot with plum jam and cream.

Now we come to the highlight of every festive table - the Friesentorte. This magnificent cake is truly a precious piece. Because it requires valuable ingredients that were not always available back then and were therefore more likely to be found on festive tables. It is not known when it has been around, but probably since the 19th century, thanks to the sailors who brought many recipes with them from other countries. Like puff pastry, for example.

Today's variations also work with shortcrust pastry, but are not the original recipe

Recipe

Bake two puff pastry bases (you can use ready-made pastry) Brush one of the bases (the top) with egg yolk and sprinkle with caster sugar Leave the second (base) plain After baking, spread the base generously with plum jam Spread not too little whipped cream on the plum jam base Cut the top into 12 even pieces and then arrange the pieces on top.

The wealthier the family the more the cake would consist of several layers. Which made eating even more complicated, because how do you eat this monster without smearing cream all over your face? Well, you take the lid off, eat the inside and nibble the lid separately.

So there you have it and I wish you a delicious tea time of a different kind. Enjoy your tea and your tasty treats like real Frisians.

[moonastro]

pick a picture⋆ ˚ ꩜ ｡ ⋆୨୧˚

𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙨 𝙥𝙩.2

left to right(top)-> 1,2

left to right(bottom)-> 3,4

*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚

°DO NOT take this as literal, take everything with a grain of salt as this is purely and intendedly for entertainment purposes.

°Don't be afraid to give feedback and opinions about this post (as i would entirely appreciate it).

° This is a GENERAL reading, take what resonates and leave and pass on what does not!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚

PILE 1-

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may have a significant-like a strong/muscley back or have problems with back pain--also the spine!!

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may regularly change hairstyle often, perhaps cut their hair a lot and dye their hair often. i see them leaning towards having red/blue/grey hair.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may like sparkly thing, for example diamonds, glitter, glass and so forth. anything with sparkles on it intrigues them.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may also be into star shaped jewellery, stars may be an interest of theirs.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may wear hats or like to wear hoods.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚loves sleeping, is a deep sleeper.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may prefer winter/ autumn more than summer/spring. prefer the cold weather in general. may constantly have a fan/air con on at all times despite the weather outside.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚like cooking, preparing meals for others. are interested in learning new recipes.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚like history, are fascinated about historic events and eras.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are most likely into skincare and haircare, have a designated routine that they do every day.

thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed!!✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

PILE 2-

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are definitely a high achiever, may have a lot of achievements academically speaking.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are sensitive to sounds, sound is very important to them. For example, may like loud music blasting in their ears or are the opposite and hate loud sounds, like hating fireworks because of their loud sound.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may have green eyes, blonde/red hair.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚love children, would want a family for sure. has a soft spot for kids.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚has multiple of ears piercing, may have other body piercings also.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚hate being in tight spaces, are picky about clothes and overall personal space.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚very caring and nurturing. is the kind of person to anonymously do something to protect you without craving for the attention of recognition.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚has some signature sitting position/habit that they have when sitting down. may cross their legs or bend one leg and so forth.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚love warm weather, especially watching the sunrise- are perhaps a morning person as well.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚love movies, might have a comfort movie that they watch over and over again.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚have longer than average legs.

thanks for reading!!!✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

PILE 3-

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚loveee music, may make/create/produce music themselves.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may prefer gold jewellery or may have/own a lot of gold accessories.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may be lactose intolerant or just hate diary, cheese-- may be vegan/vegetarian or follow some sort of a diet.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may like dark themes, clothes, style, music, aesthetic etc.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚weird way to explain it but may hate how time goes fast, may be afraid of aging or growing up. even may be afraid of death also.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚they don't get bored easily, can sit still doing nothing for hours on end.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚have a very hypnotic/sweet/classy voice. i feel like their voice makes people melt ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧���

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚keeps to themselves most of the time, and i don't mean that in a shy matter but in a energy reserved way- they just would much rather have/prefer their own company. or aren't bothered by being alone.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚might not celebrate their birthday. or may think that there is no need to.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚love thinking about the higher cosmos and the outer worldly possibilities.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may not drink enough water/don't like water/forget to drink water.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚prefer to stay silent than to express what they think.

hope you enjoyed this reading PILE 3!!!✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

PILE 4-

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are sly with things, almost like hypnotic. their actions are so hypnotising that you cant say no to them.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚have a soft spot for old things, may like to go thrifting, collect lost things, love getting generational stuff passed down to them etc etc.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚definitely go with he flow, they may not think much of their future and are too busy thinking about the present moment.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚like to try new things, may like to go along with the current trends on the internet and social media. may like to make social media content also.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚think about others before themselves.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚may be from a hot country-may be racially mixed.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are very loyal.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚keep very good secrets. i feel like they are the friend who is always getting the tea☕🍵😭

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚are good with little details, are always confronted with "how do you know that" or "how do you remember that??". because they surprise people of how good they remember the tiniest of details of a situation or person.

thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed PILE 4!!!✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐⋆*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆

FRIENDLY REMINDER- paid tarot readings are available (DM or check out here for more info!!)

*IMAGES ARE NOT MINE*

[b0n3s-is-gay]

I can't help falling in love with you~

Synopsis: Darry comes home after a long... LONG day at work. Opening the door to see his darling girlfriend swaying to the radio, cooking one of his mom's recipes for dinner, and singing...

CWs: None, just fluff... Maybe a bit of appreciation for this man, mentions of marriage, slow dancing in the kitchen, high school sweethearts, Proposal (HE DESERVES A HAPPY ENDING, AND I WILL WRITE THAT HAPPY ENDING GODDAMN IT!!!).

Coming home after a long day, working out in the sun as the chill of autumn slowly creeped in, was both a blessing and a curse... It was a blessing because this is where his family is, where his brothers, gang, and partner since high school are always. But it was also a curse because after a long day, all he wanted to do was relax without loud noises...

Stepping through the door, he was met by the soft sounds of the radio and the gang was quiet. Sodapop and Steve were playing cards, Dally was drinking with Twobit and watching Mickey, Ponyboy was reading to Johnny... And then there was his partner... In the kitchen cooking dinner and listening to the radio. "Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you..." Her voice started as she stirred the soup. "Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?~" She sang swaying in the kitchen in time with the love song.

A smile gently graced Darry's lips as he walked into the kitchen, picking up the lyrics like it was just them in the whole house. He cleared his throat and smiled. His hands found purchase on her hips and swayed with her for a minute, just enjoying the moment of peace between them.

Darry pulled back when the next verse and gently spun her around. "Like a river flows, surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be..." The soft chuckles emanating from her throat made his heart skip a beat... Moments like these just made him want to spend the rest of his life like this.

Hands clasped, singing while cooking together, just general domestic stuff. It made his heart swell since moments like this, between both of them, were few and far between. But given a chance, a real chance in a world where money didn't matter, he'd marry her in a heart beat. Fancy wedding or not, this is what Darrel Shaynne Curtis dreamed of...

"Take my hand, take my whole life, too..." She sang as Darry's hands rested on her hips, like he was always meant to be here. Body's touching and loving gazes being shared between two hopelessly in love people.

"For I can't help falling in love with you..." He concluded as he gently dipped her, making her squeal and wrap her arms around his neck. Darry smiled and gently pecked her lips.

If anyone didn't know any better, it would look like two sappy teenagers on prom night.

Unbeknownst to the two love birds, the other boys had looked away from what they were doing and gathered at the kitchen to see what all the noise was about. They didn't expect to see Darry singing and being an overall sap, but Sodapop and Ponyboy smiled since it was one of the first times since their parents passed away that Darry seemed genuinely smiled and let loose. "Like a river flows, surely to the sea..." He started with a smile as he pulled them both up, continuing to sway her around in his arms. "Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be..." She picked up where he left off, smiling as she cupped his cheek.

Darry smiled as he gently twirled her again, his heart melting with her soft chuckles and her smile that was almost contagious. Pulling her back against his front he gently watched her pull away to stir the soup so it didn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Darry was never spontaneous, but something felt like he just had to do this now. He knelt down on one knee and pulled out his mother's wedding ring. When she turned around, he smiled and simply finished the song. "Take my hand... Take my whole life, too? For I can't help falling in love with you..." He smiled, changing the last bit of the song into the question. He held the ring out for her, he didn't need all them fancy theatrics...

Looking up at her hopefully, waiting for her answer. A soft voice came from her throat, answering his question. "For I can't help falling in love with you...~" She nodded gently, letting him slip the ring onto her finger before pulling him into a tight hug, dinner long forgotten.

The rest of the gang watched on, wondering when Darry got the balls to do something this spontaneous. Ponyboy and Sodapop exchanged glances and then silently motioned for the rest of the gang to leave them be. "Let them be, let 'em have their moment..." Sodapop said as he walked away.

Now alone, Darry just held her, sitting in wonder at what just fucking happened. "I can't believe you said yes... I love you..." He whispered, holding her tightly. "I'm a bit shocked, but I do mean yes... I love you more..." She whispered back squeezing him tightly.

[coff33andb00ks]

Recipe for the Perfect Christmas 1/12

One part small town girl coming home from the big city. One part handsome stranger. Five parts lifelong friends (don't forget to include their partners). One part stubborn father. A dash of Christmas spirit. Part: One of Twelve Pairing: Oscar Piastri x ofc (with appearances from Mark Webber. Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Pato O'Ward, and George Russell) wc: 3,965 warnings: none nav: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve a/n: did someone order a hallmark christmas fic? (it was me, i ordered it). special thank you to @leodette for helping me out with this!! also yes named ofc not sorry, and shout out to Zuz, @driverlando, @snoopyracing, @spiderbeam, @landinhoe, @maxlarens for letting me use them as side characters. Soundtrack: spotify ⋆❆⋆ apple music

Part One

Natalie Webber made the drive a couple of times a year, but this time there was a finality about it. Possibly because her car was packed with everything she cared to bring with her. Or it could have been that her low fuel light came on as soon as she passed the sole gas station. Groaning, she kept going.

She wasn’t ready to be seen. Although she had a feeling that everyone already knew she was coming back.

It never failed to amaze her how the town never changed. The diner next to the gas station. The post office, the town hall. The town green was situated across from the town hall, and when she drove by, she saw people setting up for the annual bonfire. She recognized a few of the people and kept going. Past the café and the hardware store and the bookstore. Then the general store on the corner, across from the bakery.

She could practically taste the croissants as she turned.

One block and she was home. Home. Not the penthouse apartment overlooking the city. Home, with its graveled driveway and slate stepping stones to the front stoop.

She stared at the two-story brick house for a moment, finally cutting the engine and letting go of the steering wheel. Her father’s truck was where he always parked it and she sighed, knowing he had walked down to the town green instead of driving. Glancing at the front door she could see a note tacked in the middle of the autumn wreath and rolled her eyes while she climbed out of the car and walked to the door.

Gone to the green to help, then to the bakery to do prep for morning. Be back by dark. Love you.

The front door was unlocked, because of course it was. She wondered if it would do any good to fuss at her father about it but knew it would be like every other time. He’d been on this earth for however many years without her managing every little detail, and he’d do just fine now.

It took fewer trips to unload her car than she had thought it would, and was still light out when she sat on her old bed in her old room. It smelled of lemon furniture polish, fabric softener, and vanilla. Her gaze landed on the dresser and her vision blurred with tears.

A small plate, piled with sugar cookies. Her favorite. Leaning, she grabbed one, blinking the tears away as another note fluttered to the floor.

Welcome home, sweetie

"Oh dad," Natalie sighed, picking up the note and tucking it into the frame of the mirror.

When she'd called him in tears asking if she could come home he'd told her that her room would always be there for her. And in the ensuing weeks she'd been able to pick up on the excitement in his voice. Having her home for a few days wasn't the same. Running the bakery didn't give him many opportunities to visit her, not to mention he hated anything larger than the next town over, which only had three traffic lights.

She just wished she'd come home a success. Not the abject failure she was.

Picking up another cookie, she busied herself with unpacking, trying her best to stuff the accessories she'd amassed into the bedroom she had lived in for eighteen years.

The clock on the mantel in the living room chimed as she brought the empty plate downstairs. Just as she stepped off the bottom stair the front door opened and—

"Natalie."

She could hear his joy and noticed several things as she moved to greet him. His limp had worsened since she'd last seen him on Father's Day. His hair was grayer. There were shadows under his eyes. She had never seen him look so happy to see her. His hug was tighter than she remembered and she held onto him, allowing herself to be his little girl for a moment.

"Don't cry, sweetie," Mark soothed when a sob escaped her. "Come on, into the kitchen."

The kitchen was as it always had been. Bright an spacious with the lingering aroma of coffee and spices. She wiped her tears away and, knowing he wouldn't sit down and let her wait on him, made him at least help fix the pot of coffee and put together turkey sandwiches for an early dinner before the bonfire.

Spotting a small wooden box on the island counter she pulled it close and lifted the lid. "What's this old thing doing out? You don't need help remembering your old recipes do you?"

"Of course not." He watched her flick through the contents. Index cards, scraps of paper, most of them in his handwriting.

Natalie smiled as she pulled out the stained, crumpled brown paper bag that had her grandfather's brownie recipe jotted down. "I'll never forget you giving me this when I said I wanted to make brownies," she murmured. "I couldn't read half the measurements, and Papa didn't even have the oven temperature or bake time on here."

"You figured it out," Mark reminded her with a chuckle. Taking it from her, he carefully tucked it back into the box and replaced the lid. "I'm gonna finally type them up."

"Finally doing a cookbook?" she guessed. She'd been telling him for years that he should. Had even suggested he just do a few copies at a time to give to friends.

"No…" Shaking his head, he smoothed his fingers over the top of the box. He looked about to say something, then cleared his throat. "I got you some of that almond milk for your coffee."

"Thanks." When she'd come to stay for Christmas two years before he'd acted as though she'd insulted him and his entire lineage.

Mark Webber drank his coffee black. No sugar, no cream or milk, no flavorings. At home, he drank it out of his favorite mug: off-white with a red handle that his late wife had given to him their first Christmas together. At the bakery, he had it out of his second-favorite mug: the garish blue one with #1 Dad in yellow letters that Natalie had given him for Father's Day when she'd been six.

Mark Webber also drank his coffee strong. She'd forgotten how strong he made his coffee and, when he moved to sit at the table, she added more sweetener and almond milk to her mug before joining him.

He waited until they'd finished their sandwiches and had each eaten half a cookie before speaking. "Do you know what you're gonna do yet?"

"No." The cookies were perfect. Golden brown on the bottom, just soft to the touch. They melted in her mouth and she reached for another. "I guess I'll start looking Monday."

"There's no rush."

"Dad… I'm too old to be living at home supported by you."

"Nonsense. You're never too old to need your dad's support."

The cookie turned bitter in her mouth. "I'm supposed to be looking after you by now."

"Just because I'm getting a little slower—"

"Have you scheduled your knee replacement?"

"Ah," he grunted, scowling as he lifted his mug. "It can wait."

Natalie blinked. "Are you insane? You can't—"

"I can. I'll have it after the Christmas rush."

"What? Christmas is almost a month away!"

"And then I'll schedule my replacement and take time off like you've been telling me to do for years."

She drew in a breath. Don't argue. Don't argue. Don't argue. "Have you hired extra help at the bakery?"

He didn't answer.

Natlie somehow kept her voice gentle. "You're only making it worse."

"I wear a brace at work. I take pain medicine when I need it. I even use that fucking cane. You make it sound like I'm tap dancing twelve hours a day." He stood and she noticed he moved with deliberate steps to refill his coffee.

"Can you at least try to take it easy?" She frowned. "The business is still good isn't it?"

"Of course it is." He flashed her a smile. "In fact, I—"

"Since I'm unemployed, I'll help out. I can't bake as well as you but I can do the basics."

His brow furrowed and he slowly took a sip of coffee. "You mean that?"

"It's the least I can do."

His brow relaxed. "I'm glad you're home, Natalie."

She thought of the penthouse that she had told herself over and over she loved. The job she had thought had been her dream come true. The carefully laid plans for her life. One tiny hiccup had caused it all to crumble to dust.

Swallowing hard, she managed a smile. "Me, too."

"It's as cold as a witch's ti—"

"Natalie Rose." Her father's tone held the same warning it had when she'd been a rambunctious little kid.

"Well it is," she muttered, zipping her jacket up to her chin.

"Once the fires get going you'll forget the cold."

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she stood beside him on the corner. "How's your knee?"

"It still bends. It's fine, sweetie."

She didn't fully believe him. It had to hurt, especially in the cold. He'd insisted on walking to the bonfire, and if he noticed she intentionally slowed her steps so he wouldn't overdo it, he didn't say.

"Natalie!"

"I thought that was you driving through town this afternoon!"

The familiar voices had her forgetting the chill in the air. Next to her, her father cleared his throat.

"I see the pastor," he said as Sasha and Lilli approached. Then, showing no signs of having a bad knee, he hurried away.

Natalie hugged her two longtime friends, enthusing over how good it was to see them again, even though they'd made a trip to visit her just a few weeks before.

"Maddie's here," Lilli said, gesturing to one of the benches. "You know her doctor put her on bed rest but she still came?"

"Her mom is the mayor she kind of has to," Sasha laughed. Arms linked the three made their way to the bench, and Natalie sat next to Maddie on the bench as Sasha rushed off to find Susie and Amira. The group tried to quickly catch up but it was impossible, because seemingly every town resident had to walk by to welcome Natalie home.

Familiar faces she'd known all her life. Some genuinely happy to see her, some surprised, and a few looked as though they were happy that she'd failed at her city life. Smiling with relief when Susie suggested cider, she pulled her jacket hood over her head and walked with her friend across the square, past the towering structure that was roped off to keep children from getting too close. Dotted around the perimeter of the square were smaller fires for the marshmallow roasting.

"Did your dad abandon you?" Susie asked, reaching out to grab the arm of her son Michael when he began to skip away.

"Nah, he went to talk to the pastor." Natalie scooped Michael up and was rewarded with a grin as the boy. "Where are Hannah and Estie?"

"They're coming. The mare is close to foaling, and you know how he is when that happens." Susie rolled her eyes. "Hannah insisted on staying with him."

"At least this time you're not about to have a baby," Natalie teased. It was one of Susie's favorite stories, how her husband Esteban had been so caught up in the birth of a foal that he had missed the birth of his daughter. It was good-natured teasing, especially now that Esteban had made up for it by making sure to attend every moment of his son's birth the next year.

"We have to have a girls' night," Susie insisted while they stood in line for cider. "Come by the café for lunch tomorrow? Or do you have plans?"

"I've been home for four hours, when would I have made plans?"

"So you haven't met the new neighbor?"

"What new—"

"Daddy!" Michael squealed.

"There's my darling boy." Esteban Ocon was grinning as he strolled up, passing Hannah off to her mother and immediately slipping Michael from Natalie's arms. A second later his arm was around his wife, tucking her close to his side so he could kiss the top of her head. Looking at Natalie, his grin widened. "Hey, stranger."

"You saw me two months ago," Natalie snorted, letting Hannah jump into her arms for a hug.

"Doesn't count, it was for five minutes and on pavement, not grass." Esteban shuddered dramatically.

"How's Bonny?" Susie asked him.

"Restless. The vet said it'll probably be late tonight, but we knew that already. He's coming by again after the bonfire. I'm not staying long, I don't want her to be alone. Did Mark do cookies for this year?" Esteban glanced at his watch then at the next stall.

"He said Mrs. Parker picked them up this morning," Natalie told him.

"Cookie?" Michael asked hopefully.

"Of course, let's go find some cookies. Mommy can get us cider, hm? And we can roast one marshmallow before I have to get back to the farm," Esteban assured gently, ushering both Hannah and Michael towards the cookie stall.

"I'll find you," Susie called after him.

Natalie watched him herd his kids off then turned her attention back to Susie. Her friend was admiring Esteban's retreat, smirking. Natalie snorted and poked her in the arm. "What new neighbor?"

"Oh! Right, sorry. I was distracted…" Susie gave a little sigh before turning to face Natalie. "What?"

"Stop planning the conception of your third child and tell me about the new neighbor."

"I'm not planning a conception, I'm planning—"

"Susie!"

"Sorry. Jeez. Anyway, your new neighbor? Oscar Piastri. He's fixing up the old Alonso place on Halifax Street. You remember, the yellow Victorian with the two turrets?"

Natalie wanted to question how someone three blocks away could be considered a neighbor but knew better. If a family moved into one of the old farms out on Route 15, they were a neighbor. It was just how it was. "He bought that big old house?"

"No, no, he's fixing it up for his friend. Max something. Very nice. Married with two kids about Hannah and Michael's age—"

"The new neighbor?"

"Max. Oscar's single." Susie stepped up to the stall and requested four ciders, dropping a few dollars into the jar. "Max and his family are moving to town after the holidays I think. Estie has Max and Oscar over quite a bit. Max is looking to buy a local business."

Natalie shoved some cash into the jar and scooped up five cups of cider as well, balancing them between her hands. "What business?"

"I don't know, nobody's selling that I know of. Sasha hasn't heard a word either." As the wife to the town's sole real estate agent, Sasha would know. "I asked Estie but he said he doesn't know. I think he misheard. Or he's just being mean because he knows I need to know all the details." Susie huffed with annoyance. "He's such an ass."

Natalie slowly counted to three.

"But he's got such a great ass, I forgive him."

Natalie laughed, and noticed people moving closer to the center of the green. "Go find your ass."

"Lunch?"

"Lunch," she promised, carrying the ciders back to the other girls. Lando was on the bench with Maddie, gently massaging her baby bump, and pouted playfully when Natalie didn't hand him a cider. George had Lilli wrapped in his arms, and Carlos was fussing over Sasha for not wearing her hat. Natalie vaguely recognized the man standing with Amira and absentmindedly rubbed her empty ring finger as she stood near the couples. The mayor spoke and Natalie listened to her words about spreading light and good cheer, then politely joined in the applause as the mayor held a torch to the base of the structure. A ripple of excitement swept through the crowd and Natalie's eyes swept up, watching the flames spread up the structure. Then, one by one, the smaller fires were lit.

Music began to play and the atmosphere was light. Giggling children, lighthearted chatter. Natalie looked around for her father, saw children lining up for marshmallows and skewers, adults settling on blankets by the smaller fires. She glimpsed Susie with Esteban, Hannah, and Michael. The scent of burning sugar and wood filled the air and she sipped the cider, apologizing when she bumped into a woman holding a toddler. She sidestepped, wincing when she stepped into a man.

"Sorry," the man said, grinning as one hand shot out to steady her. The other hand clutched an energy drink.

She didn't recognize him and wondered if he was the new neighbor. The woman turned, chastising him for being clumsy, and Natalie offered a quick smile. "No, no, it was my fault. Wasn't looking where I was going."

"Neither does he," the woman said with a playful grin. "He always says it's a great way to meet new people. Since we're moving into town soon, I suppose he has a point. Hi, I'm Eve. This is my husband, Max."

"Lucas," the toddler announced, patting his chest.

"I was getting to you," Eve said.

Natalie smiled at the boy, who was starting to wriggle in his mother's arms and tugging at the hat on his head. "I'm Natalie. You're moving into… Oh! Into the old Alonso place?"

"Guilty as charged," Max said with a grin, tugging the cap down on his son's head. "As soon as Oscar finishes getting it ready. We still live up in Fairview while Eve finishes her contract, but I'm back and forth helping Oscar and—"

"He means slowing down Oscar's work," Eve put in. "The house was supposed to be finished by Thanksgiving—"

"It'll be finished by the end of the year," Max insisted gently, taking a sip of his energy drink. "Stop worrying."

"Cookie?" Lucas asked, snatching the hat from his head.

""We're going to get cookies and cider right now, darling." Eve grabbed the hat and handed it to Max. "Great meeting you, Natalie!"

"You too," Natalie replied, watching her head towards the stalls.

"Do you live in town?" Max asked, turning to face her fully. He tipped his head, grinning again. "You're Mark's daughter."

"You know my dad?" she asked, stepping to one side when someone bumped into her and blinking in surprise when Max suddenly reached out to catch a girl by the arm.

"Watch where you're going, please," he said in a firm but gentle tone of a loving parent.

"Sorry!" The girl tipped her head back to stare up at Natalie. "Sorry, ma'am."

"No harm done," Natalie assured her.

"My daughter Grace," Max introduced. "This is—"

"Grace!"

Natalie stepped aside again when a man jogged up. Glancing at him, she was surprised to see him in only a thin jacket despite the chill. Brown hair fell over his eyes as he skidded to a stop, bending to give Grace a playful glare.

"Brat," he said. "Why did you run away from me?"

"I saw Daddy," Grace told him, hugging Max's leg.

The man snorted derisively. "He's not that great." Swinging her into his arms, he spun her in a quick circle. "You're still a brat."

"Just like you," Grace said, sticking out her tongue.

"Don't tell Lucas, but you're my favorite."

"My friend Oscar," Max said to Natalie. "Osc, this is Natalie."

Oscar gave her a quick glance, nodding. "Hi."

"Hi," she greeted.

"Can we get a marshmallow now? Please?" Grace asked. "Before they're all gone."

Natalie finished her now-cold cider. "You don't have to worry about that. Mrs. Parker always gets more than enough."

"Is she the old lady with the funny laugh?"

"Grace," Max groaned, clapping a hand over his face. "Don't be rude."

"You said it's not rude if it's true."

"Don't say everything I say," Max muttered.

Grace heaved a sigh and turned to Natalie. "I'm sorry if I was rude."

"She does have a funny laugh," Natalie told her in a stage whisper. "I got in trouble once for saying she sounded like a donkey."

The girl's eyes widened comically. "She does! I told you, Daddy!"

"Oh god. Let's get a marshmallow," Max sighed, holding out his arms. "And remember your manners, okay?"

Oscar chuckled as father and daughter headed off. "His curse is having kids just like him."

Natalie nodded. There was a brief silence as they stood there, and she cleared her throat. "Have you had to do a lot of work on the house?"

Oscar nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Quite a bit, yeah. Still a ways to go before it's done. I don't have to sleep in the camper anymore, though."

Another brief silence. "My friend Susie mentioned—"

"Esteban's wife?" Oscar flashed a quick smile. "Nice woman."

"Yeah, she's great." Why did this feel so awkward and stilted? She never had trouble talking to strangers. Her old work friends had teased that she could strike up a conversation with anyone.

The song playing over the loudspeakers changed and she brightened, spirits lifting as one of her favorite Christmas songs began to play, drowned out briefly by Oscar's groan.

She glanced at him curiously. "Not a fan of Perry Como?

He snorted. "He's alright. Not really a fan of Christmas music."

Her jaw slackened. "Really? How come? I mean, that's none of my business, sorry. I'm sure you have a valid reason. Do you not celebrate?"

"Oh I celebrate it. I just hate Christmas music."

"That's impossible. No one hates Christmas music," she insisted.

"Maybe hate is too strong a word. I… Dislike it. It gets stuck in my head and it's played nonstop as soon as Halloween is over." He shuddered. "Disgusting."

"I haven't met one person who's said they hate Christmas music…"

"C'mon, be honest." Oscar moved closer. "Isn't there a Christmas song you can't stand? One that comes on and you want to kick a reindeer?"

Natalie let out a shocked laugh. "No! Christmas music is perfect."

"Nothing's perfect," he scoffed.

Somehow they'd fallen into step next to each other, falling in line to get marshmallows and skewers. Natalie smiled at Mrs. Parker when she was handed a skewer then trailed along beside Oscar towards a fire. "Christmas music is perfect," she said again as they settled on a bench. "It's superior. Even when I'm not in a Christmassy mood it lifts my spirits."

"Even the one about a hippopotamus?"

"That one makes me giggle." She held her marshmallow close to the flames.

"Two front teeth?" he asked skeptically.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Sorry, I love it. It's all wonderful. Even the religious ones are great. Magic and hope and the promise of good things."

He shook his head. "I guess you have a point."

"Plus most of them have jingle bells. What's not to love?"

Oscar hummed. "You're on fire."

Natalie frowned, watching the firelight dance on his face. "Is that a Christmas song? I don't think I've ever heard that—"

"No." He reached to cover her hand with his, pulling her marshmallow from the fire. "Your marshmallow."

For the first time she noticed his eyes were brown. Finally dragging her gaze from him, she saw her charred marshmallow and groaned, shaking the smoking brick off the skewer, heard the faint sizzle as it landed in the flames.

"You can have mine," he offered.

"It's fine. I don't even like them that much," she said with a shrug.

He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go, eyes meeting hers. And suddenly she couldn't feel the disappointment over losing her marshmallow.

[breelandwalker]

Harvest Moon - September 17 2024

Grab your canning supplies and your favorite cider mug - it’s time for the Harvest Moon!

Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It does not matter whether the moon occurs before or after the equinox or in which month it falls. In some years, this means the Harvest Moon may occur in October, in which cause the September moon might go by the name of Corn Moon or Rice Moon, depending on where you are.

In 2024, the Harvest Moon falls once more in the month of September and this year, it's also a supermoon! However, in 2025, the September moon will come early in the month, making it a Corn Moon. The Harvest Moon that year will be in early October.

The September moon is particularly beloved by farmers in the Northern Hemisphere, as it rises earlier and shines brighter than other full moons due to the relative angle of the Earth in relation to the moon during the equinox, which is helpful for lighting up the tail end of those long work days. In addition, the Harvest Moon may also appear full for multiple nights, providing additional illumination for labor or evening strolls. As such, while the peak of the Harvest Moon will occur at 10:34pm EST on September 17th, it may also appear to be full the night before and after.

Other North American Indigenous names for the September moon include a number of variations of the aforementioned Corn Moon (used by numerous nations), such as Corn Maker Moon (Abenaki), Corn Harvest Moon (Dakota), and Corn Is Harvested Moon (Zuni). Other names refer to seasonal changes or animal behavior, such as Autumn Moon (Cree), Falling Leaves Moon (Ojibwe), Leaves Turning Moon (Anishinaabe), and Rutting Moon (Cree). Some European and modern pagan names for the September moon include Barley Moon (Old English), Singing Moon (Celtic), and Fruit Moon (general).

What Does It Mean For Witches?

As autumn begins, we continue to reap what we’ve sown over the course of the year. It’s a time to pause and reflect on what we’ve accomplished, let go of any unnecessary burdens we’re still carrying, and focus on taking care of hearth and home for the cold months ahead. Now is a good time to do one last clutter purge or finish those repairs you’ve been putting off all summer!

Change is in the air as well, and transformations begun earlier in the year will burst into vibrant life. Just as the flowers bloom in spring, the leaves turn in the fall, and those of us who come alive in the autumn will start to fell that zing coming back.

Community also comes back into focus during harvest time, both because of the sharing of resources and the accompanying start of the school year. Take a moment to reinforce positive and supportive connections with friends and neighbors, or reach out to your local or online circle to strengthen existing bonds.

This a time of great abundance, especially with the supermoon full in the sky, so if you’ve been meaning to draw any kind of increase into your life, take steps to do so now. Harness that Harvest Moon energy to help carry you through the lean times in comfort and plenty.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

This is the time for feasting, bonfires, and outdoor gatherings. September and October will give us a few more warm weeks before the weather turns cold and rainy, so make the most of it! Have a potluck supper with a menu made of everyone’s favorite seasonal recipes. Visit a local farmer’s market and bring home that fresh seasonal produce. Thank the earth for the bounty it provides and renew your promise to be a good steward of the land where you live.

Technically, this is the second “harvest” moon of the year, since the harvest of most seasonal crops began back in August with wheat and corn and late summer fruits. The harvest of corn and grain continues into September and is joined by additional late-season fruits and vegetables, the most iconic of which is the annual apple crop.

Apple-picking is easily my favorite autumn activity and it’s fantastic way to get outdoors, get some fresh air, and come home with tasty produce for uses both mundane and magical. From cider to applesauce to pies, apples are delightfully versatile. They also feature in a number of folk traditions and party games which double as divination rituals.

Continue your preparations for winter by canning or preserving fresh foods, hanging harvested herbs and flowers to dry, or refreshing your stocks of moon water and magical oils. Make your own magical brews using a stock pot as a cauldron and soups, stews, punch, cider, and mulled wine as your potions. Kitchen witches, your time is NOW!

Wear the colors of the season boldly and revel in all the gifts you’ve received and joys you’ve experienced so far this year. If you’ve been particularly blessed, pay it forward to share the bounty with others. Reflect on everything you’ve accomplished, celebrate your progress, and maybe set one or two small goals for the end of the year.

And since the decorations are already appearing in stores, start stocking up for Halloween!

Happy Harvest Moon, witches! 😊🍎

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts

Secular Celebrations - Autumn Equinox

Harvest Moon, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

What Is The Harvest Moon?, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

September 2024 Harvest Full Moon: Secrets to Seize Its Magic, The Peculiar Brunette.

Full Moon 2025 Calendar, Full Moonology.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

Image Credit - Plantura, Red Moon Apple.

[tangledbea]

Headcanons for the gang's favorite autumn activities?

Rapunzel's is decorating, for sure! She loves the riot of colors of the changing leaves, and how starkly they stand out against a grey sky. She'll start with generic autumn decorations that will gradually get spookier as October picks up steam, then dials back to autumnal in early November.

Eugene's is fall fashion. He loves breaking out the stylish coats and boots that look oh-so-classy. (Plus, he likes staying warm as the air starts to take on a chill.)

Lance's is trick-or-treating and the whole Halloween phenomenon. He likes getting free candy and pranking people, but he's also come to really enjoy giving candy away, too. It's kind of nice to be secure enough that handing out treats doesn't mean he has to go without.

Kiera and Catalina love going to scare mazes. The actors never really frighten them, but sometimes Catalina transforms into her wolf form to scare them back, anyway. It's a riot!

Varian's is concocting hot drink recipes. From hot chocolate to spiced apple cider to coffee with flavored syrups, he enjoys not only coming up with delicious drinks, but sharing them with his friends and family.

Cassandra quietly enjoys dressing up for Halloween, especially if it includes a mask. Being able to go out into the town and just be herself without judgement it extremely freeing for her.

Thanks for the ask!

[sterekfests]

Welcome to our Fall round of Sterek Fests! Sterek Fall Fest will run from September 3rd - October 7th in celebration of Fall, whether you enjoy drinking every kind of pumpkin spice drink or visiting a pumpkin patch every year. There’s a little something for everyone!

Check out our Rules and FAQs. 

We also have a Discord you can join that has events running such as @sterekbingo and @sterekweekly along with @sterekfests.

How to Participate:

Participating in Sterek Fall Fests is easy and stress-free! This is a no-commitment fest where you can participate as little or as much as you want. Participate in one week and none of the others if you so fancy, or participate in all of them! We have an AO3 Collection for you to post all of your creations in!   This fest is open to both Fic and Art, so create to your heart's content!

How to post:

You can post your creations to any website that you want, as long as they are viewable to the public, whether that’s Tumblr, LiveJournal, DreamWidth, or our AO3 Collection. @sterekfests so we see your creations to reblog them. Use the tags #sterekfestsfall2023, and #sterekfests for generic tags. For weekly tags: #sterekfestssweater, #sterekfestsbaking, #sterekfestsbonfire, #sterekfestspumpkin, #sterekfestshaunted,

Late Posting:

Late posting is always welcomed! The collection will stay open for late submissions.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask!

- Liam (@sterekbros) & Dori (@evanesdust) 

Keep reading to see all the awesome theme weeks ahead!

September 3-9: Sweater Weather

As the leaves change to a beautiful rainbow of colors, it’s time for Stiles and Derek to break out the sweaters and savor some cozy autumn days. Do they explore harvest farms and drink seasonal cups of pumpkin spice latte? Or maybe they take a hike through the woods or visit a corn maze? The possibilities are endless as they embrace the season and all the flavors of fall.

September 10-16:  Baking

It’s that time of year when cool weather brings out everyone’s love for baking! Tarts, pies, pumpkin butter, cookies, cheesecake bars, and cobblers are on the menu. Is Stiles in a baking mood with the change of the weather, getting ready for the upcoming holidays? Is Derek making his mother’s from-scratch apple pie? Maybe there’s a local bake-off for a harvest festival, where Stiles or Derek is the undefeated champion, and the other has come to challenge them to an on-the-spot bake-off. May the best baker win!

September 17-23: Bonfire

The air is crisp and autumn’s arrival is the absolute perfect time of the year to take advantage of the cool nights and starry skies and to make memories around the fire pit with friends, pack, and family. Roasting marshmallows for s'mores and getting cozy with your mate is one of the many things Sterek can enjoy this Fall around the bonfire.  Are they having a pack get-together at the rebuilt Hale house where Derek is hosting a bonfire party for the pack? Or perhaps they’re at the beach building up a bonfire to fight off the salty chilly air? Wherever you take Sterek this Fall, they’ll be snuggly and warm, enjoying the starry night together.

September 24-30: Pumpkin Patch

It’s that time of the year when everyone loves to visit a pumpkin patch! It’s one of the most Fall things you can do. Are Derek and Stiles getting ready for October, which is just around the corner? Are they picking out pumpkins so they can roast the seeds and use the rest for tasty recipes? Or maybe they’re taking their family to visit the games, including hayrides at their local pumpkin patch to support local farms and their seasonal farmers market? Perhaps the pack shows up for family photo ops for Eli’s first pumpkin patch visit! The possibilities are abundant, along with those cute adorable pumpkins we can only enjoy during the Fall season.

October 1-7: Haunted House

Phantoms and demons and ghosts, oh my! With Halloween around the corner, Stiles and Derek would certainly be brave enough to visit a haunted house or two, racing each other to see who would make it out first. Or maybe they work in one, chasing screaming patrons through the attraction. Either way, their wild energy and fearlessness would make for some thrilling entertainment.

@teenwolffandomevents @thebigbangblogproject @sterekevents

[sasslett]

FFXIV Swap 2: Enchanted Balls and Haunted Halls!

The time has come - FFXIV Swap #2 is upon us! There are some key differences from #1, for the sake of making a better (and more organized) event!

This time (and for all future swaps, most likely), there's a host of themes for you to choose from! Our second swap's themes are: Masquerade, All Saint's Wake or Autumn! Who doesn't love a midnight, mysterious masked ball? Or perhaps some harrowing haunts in the spirit of the spooky season? Or mayhap you just love the colors and aesthetics of fall?

Signups are on our Discord server exclusively! To sign up, you must join the Discord server and react beneath the announcement post to have your name added to the list! Link here: https://discord.gg/KskCdHT5

What is this, anyway? FFXIV Swap is an event in which you will be assigned a partner (at random) and will make some manner of gift featuring their FFXIV WoL/OC! Gifts in swap #1 ranged from gpose and writing and art all the way to decks of cards, drink recipes and custom weapons. The creativity of our community knows no bounds!

Changes from Swap #1: We will now have a deadline. This was a hard decision to make, but it's just too hard to have people waiting months on end for a gift when they finish in the first few weeks. The deadline is still plenty generous, giving two months to complete your gift, making the deadline for this swap December 3rd!

Rules!

FFXIV Only! I'm sure your OCs for other media are awesome but this is a XIV specific event (and our server is likewise XIV specific)

Any type of gift is allowed, so long as it features your partner's OC in some manner! No, you can't choose what kind of gift you're getting and no we will not be pairing people based on what kind of gifts they want (this isn't a free art trade).

Any skill level allowed! So long as your gift comes from the heart and you put your effort into it.

Gifter/creator chooses the theme they'd like to use - no, you can't request which theme your gift will be.

Likewise, all gifts must in some way associate with one of the chosen themes! You can do more than one theme if you'd like but only one is required.

Only one OC unless your gifter says otherwise!

No discriminating for/against mods. If you use them, keep in mind your gifter may not, and you cannot require them to download anything they don't want to create your gift.

If you participated in swap #1 and have not finished your gift by the start of swap #2 (Oct 1), you will not be able to participate in swap #2 (exceptions to this rule apply! I know many of you had temporary setbacks or weren't able to finish yet due to issues with your partners. If you want to participate but have not finished yet, please contact me and we'll look into it!)

Discord only! Tumblr is too difficult to organize on, so to participate, you MUST be a member and sign up on the FFXIV Swap discord linked above. You do NOT have to be social but you do have to be able to be contacted on discord!! This also means having a Tumblr blog is NOT required this time!

Have fun! Further, less important rules are on discord.

Sign ups close on Sept 30, and pairings will be randomly generated and posted on Oct 1! We hope to see you there!

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Winter

When writing your worlds, consider the season. Not just in general, but in the specific climate and latitude your tale takes place in. Some stories tell you the characters are on the move in winter, and expect the reader to fill in all the blanks. Brief mentions of snow, assumptions of frostbite risk, dark days and early nights, the whole works. Except... that really leaves out large swathes of the world, because it’s a distinctly northern temperate winter. Fits lots of Europe, fits the Northeastern U.S.; drifts increasingly far from reality the farther south or north you go.

To me, winter is the calling of Canada geese at sunset.

I know, most points northward associate the dratted birds calling in migration in the spring and fall; even though a lot of places have annoyingly resident populations most of the year. But where I am you mostly hear them in the winter, going back and forth between local lakes and ponds as they browse their way through the colder months and don’t really go anywhere. It’s therefore less of a melancholy “warm months going away!” sound and more of an “argh, will have to watch where we step, again.”

Likewise winter here is not presaged by a time of brilliant falling leaves. We do have leaves that fall when it gets nippy, but most of them are some shade of brown. With a few and valued reds and yellows from some maple-relatives, but mostly brown. Half the trees around here don’t have leaves fall in autumn at all. Pine needles and live-oaks flush their old growth in the spring, the better to take advantage of the rains and to fuel spring fires that coincidentally burn up all the mold-infested old leaves and needles. Without those fires taking out the mold, many seedlings won’t make it. (This is one of many, many problems in longleaf pine restoration.)

Also, while you definitely want an ice scraper through February, snow is... not really a thing. Rarely we get to see a few flakes fall, but they’re usually melting in the air as we see them. There are nights, and a few days, where it would be cold enough for snow to fall and stick - but the way winds and fronts move, those are the nights we tend to see frost and/or major thunderstorms. Some people dream of a white Christmas. We dream of one without tornadoes.

Think about your winter. What makes it unique? A pond that never freezes? A local hot cocoa recipe? A legend of a friendly yeti?

Or an unfriendly one. It may not just be Jack Frost nipping at your characters’ nose....

[sgtmickeyslaughter]

once again, its been one hell of a wednesday

time to unwind with a weekly tag game!

thanks for tagging me @lingy910y @juliakayyy @energievie and @jrooc

name: gigi

age: 24

star sign: full time virgo

first language: english

second language: lol i wish, my girlfriend has been trying to teach me korean the whole time we've been together and cant comprehend that my brain is just simply not wired to learn language

favorite lip product: aquaphor 🥰 and the nars laguna lipstick it was literally made for pale autumns

the best food dish you can make without a recipe? honestly most things, even when its new i like to skim and freestyle, most often i make eggs in hell and various soups, stews and stocks

if you drink tea, what kind? the only tea i drink is bottled cold green tea, and ginger in hot water when im sick

if you drink coffee, what roast do you usually get? light roast <3

favorite thing to watch on youtube right now: music videos! also watching a lot of book binding tutorials and general quiet crafting videos

favorite thing to watch on youtube in 2012: the dame herself ms. jenna marbles and honestly up until she left it would be the same answer

favorite item of clothing right now: i have a few very very cozy sweaters that have been in rotation over the last few weeks, but i am very excited to get back to soft loose blouses and pants

favorite item of clothing in 2012: a very cool 70's jean jacket that i still own and wear!

fandom

three movies you recommend: Chungking Express, jennifers body, in bruges

your favorite concert: tyler childers at radio city music hall, the queen of dancehall herself sister nancy and tune yards

have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? not a single opinion, we can agree to disagree on things but i have unfollowed people for consistantly being really negative about everyone other than their favorite characters and just overall being a bummer

have you ever left a fandom because of the fans? Nope! every fandom I've been apart of has had really lovely people, but by far shameless is the nicest which feels a little ironic

the best tv show you watched last year: Beef by far, I don't think Ive ever resonated with a piece of media with such raw emotion (also the bear and succession but yall already knew that)

do you have a fancasting you just can’t let go of? Im not really apart of the harry potter fandom at all but sometimes marauder fancasts come on my fyp and theyre all really fun

a ship you’ve abandoned: destiel a little, i still love them that brain rot (damage) cant be undone but i rewatched supernatural last year and like, Dean is so genuinely unkind to him most of the time (/nuanced)

on a scale of 1-10 how willing are you to share your ao3 history? i mean, with who?

do you have a fandom tattoo? no tattoos

what fandom do you wish was bigger? none come to mind

has a finale ever ruined a show for you? no honestly im pretty okay with all of them, but i never watched any of the big ones that people hate

have you…

swam in an ocean? yes! I was a jr lifeguard, swimmer and water polo player in highschool, i am the safest person to visit the beach with

been vegan/vegetarian? I was vegan for three years but when i moved back home during covid i couldnt really keep it up while eating dinner with my family every night and now im very plant based but not vegan or veg

gone skinny dipping? many times lol

gone skiing? yes but i prefer snowboarding

been to a convention? only work related design conventions

tagging from my notes: @mickeysgaymom @rainbowbri @anonymous-galager @gallawitchxx @iansw0rld @mybrainismelted

[persephonaae]

Made κολοκυθόπιτα (Greek pumpkin pies) the other day! I’ll also include a recipe below!

Ingredients

3-4 small food grade whole pumpkins 

2 cups sugar (preferably brown sugar)

4 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup rice

phyllo dough

half stick of butter

When you plan to make kolokithopita, you will want to transfer your frozen phyllo dough to the fridge to thaw for a couple hours before taking it out of the package and laying it on the counter with a paper towel lightly misted with water laid on top. The premade frozen stuff is completely fine, I do not in any way implore you to make your own phyllo as it is very time consuming and the premade stuff tastes just as good (but also not stopping you from doing so if you really wanted!).  In any case, once you have your phyllo at room temperature, take the rice and soak it in very hot water for 30 minutes. (I usually boil some water in the kettle for tea and then pouring it over the rice, covering it with something so less steam escapes) While waiting, this is a good time to grate the pumpkins to use in your filling (you will want to cut off the stem, peel/cut the skin off, and discard the seeds). You will want about 2-3 pounds of grated pumpkin, and maybe some help, unless you wanted to go for the record of world's fastest pumpkin grater while gaining arms of steel. (The texture of Greek pumpkin pie is different than other pumpkin pies since you have to grate the meat which is why you shouldn’t buy puréed pumpkin. The other thing to note is that you can actually do this with most any squash! Doesn’t have to be pumpkin; zucchini is also a common Greek base for kolokithopita, just to give you more ideas if you wanted to experiment.)

To prepare the filling, mix together the grated pumpkin, sugar, honey, ground clove, ground cinnamon, and olive oil. Drain the rice after it has soaked for 30 minutes, and mix it into this lovely slimy saccharine mixture of autumn-in-a-bowl, setting it aside once the ingredients are combined. 

Congratulations, it’s now time to work with the phyllo! Take half a stick of butter and melt it and have it ready on the side. Gently take two to three sheets of phyllo from the stack of dough and lay it on the counter or cutting board. (I usually use three sheets) You will then want to take a food brush and coat the entire side facing up with butter. Once it’s coated take a knife or pizza cutter and cut strips into the phyllo in thirds or fourths if you have the phyllo sheets in horizontal orientation, in half or thirds if you have it in vertical orientation. (The pictures show pies that we did cuts in fourths on the horizontal layout) Go back to your mixture of filling and scoop out a mound of filling that can fit into your cupped palm – it’s always better to be a bit generous with the filling. Gently squeeze out some of the excess liquid and place this filling at the bottom of one of the strips of phyllo and grab the bottom right corner and fold to the opposite side to make what looks like a triangle attached to the rest of the strip. Do this again but now with the corner of that triangle that’s on the left hand side, and bring it up to the opposite end. Keep repeating this fold until you have a triangle shaped pastry that completely encases your filling. This fold can be hard for some people to immediately understand and you might be really slow at it. Don’t worry if it’s a bit wonky, it will still taste fine in the end! Below I have a video that hopefully demonstrates that fold better. 

Keep repeating this with new sheets of phyllo (butter, cut, fill, fold… butter, cut, fill, fold…) until you’ve used all your filling or run out of dough. Each completed pie should be set onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, set about half an inch apart. Before sticking it in the oven, brush the tops of all the pies with the rest of the melted butter, then bake at 375º for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until golden brown. My last caution is to not burn your mouth when inevitably digging in as soon as the timer goes off. Hope you enjoy, ευχαριστώ!

[borzoilover69]

> BORZOI: Read HOMESTUCK like its 2011 (part 2)

I'm back. My barber made me look like Jake English deadass.

Page 4149 i s a neat callback to page 629. I just realised the adjustment of what he's holding, since Egbert replaced him in Janes timeline, which is so interesting.

AND OF COURSE ONE OF THE BEST FUCKING BOOKS KNOWN TO MAN. Pony pals. Detective pony. So awesome. So cool. That's all there really is to say about it. I read the thing on AO3. Janes right it was heavy handed but incredibly intriguing. You remember lolcat Jane? You remember lolcat? Yeah I remember lolcat. Its so cute that the recipe for it is a combination of tiny maplehoof, wise guy, and dirks sweet shades. Its such a neat little combination. A wise horse guy qith an affinity for ponies and sweeeeet fucking shades.

But anyways, I'm getting offtopic. Comparing and contrasting these two Andersons, we also draw parallels of our characters learning valuable information for their session later. In Egberts case, after reading through wise guy, Egbert gets the idea to overlap two cards and create a new totem lathe, alchemising and creating one of the first items. In janes case, she goes to check out the gristwidget and show how it can convert cards to grist, something the kids will find incredibly useful later on in their journeys. The Betas session was about creating and adventuring and finding something new (keeping with the spring theme, you see?) via the kids alchemising loot to make them further overpowered and giving them character. The betas session had BREATH. A lot of it. It was centered around their leader, and gave them all the freedom to go fuck off and do their personal quests with their troll guides and alchemise and learn as they go.

Meanwhile the alphas, again, stick with that autumn theme. The gristwidget is going to prove useful later, because all the enemies and consorts are dead on their planet. Their session is not meant to spring life anew, but to conserve, to survive, not thrive. I guess it's why reasonably we never saw them doing an alchemising session together. It just didn't fit the theme. They were not meant to thrive, they were meant to wait for the end of the long dead winter, to survive off of what they could conserve, for spring. Their leader as stated by Dirk is not Jane, nor Dirk, and heaven forbid Jake, but ROXY. Their leader was Roxy, keeping them together but also essentially setting the stage for the stagnant and obscure nature of their session, one that would test and strain their relationships to the furthest they'd ever been strained.

4154

Don't mind me, just enjoying the subliminals in the background. This shit looks like what I assume a tiktok page looks like.

4155 oh neat!

And here we get another flaw from the get-go. The flaws of the alpha kids are so prominently stated just from the get-go, how opinionated and stubborn and *wanting* to do their way they are but begrudgingly having to put up with others to some extent. Jane getting pestered by Jake, who has no time for japery or mild fun in his quest to deliver the package to Jade who will go on to give it to John and getting downright passive-aggressive. Roxy, in another quest to give a gift but not so urgently, being absent (They had plans) ignoring nor apologising for her absence. She ignores and seems unaware. We start off seeing Roxy at sort of her worst, while others are more reasonable, and then shit flies off the deepend and Roxy straightens herself out (as a leader does) and everyone else sort of catapults into things fucking up. But i'm getting ahead of myself.

Reading this conversation just grates me honestly. Both sides are being pretty inconsiderate and I have to watch through my fingers and let out a breath as they get frustrated at each other. Janes reasonable in feeling chagrined about the whole thing, she's 15 dealing with a friend who's underage drinking and making generally bad decisions and Jane is no therapist by any terms of the words. The alpha kids rely on needling others for getting across things they cant really say upfront because they lack emotional maturity. Going "hey im doing xyz just letting you KNOW just making you AWARE." And it always always allllways backfires on them!! Just be upfront for once you idiots!! I'll put examples as I come upon them, but Jane is the most prominent.

Speaking of Jane, I always headcanonned her voice as either Velma from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated. Velma reminds me of Jane very much, from crushing hard on a clueless and albeit not really fit for guy wearing green to ( and this is just my thoughts ) realising they're both lesbians and avid mystery enjoyers with relatively skeptic if wellmeaning airs behind them. I think seeing Jane in a vein similiar to Velma makes me fond of her.

It's good to see them winding down a little as their conversation comes to an end. At the end of the day they're girls whove been friends for a very long while for better or for worse and i feel like a fair deal of early friendship with the others per Roxy was when she was inebriated which left them in a limbo of "hey what the fuck do we do" especially with Jane, who seems moreso trying to spur Roxy on via comparing how good her life is and how motivated she is in a push for action on Roxys side, to Dirk, who leaves it to his autoresponder to deal with her illadvised advances on his personhood.

Its great to see them while down after they sort of passive aggressively aired their annoyances at each other. At the end of the day its so important to know that despite it all, all the ribbing and nudging and stuff, the alpha kids work to try and spur the others on to be better and take care of them in their own ways, wellintentioned but not always hitting home base, you know?

4160 Here she is playing pretend and giggling over her cute little detective get ups pretending to be a guy with an especially dashing mustache. Meanwhile Egbert in the beta session simply said "This disguise is stupid" and left the premises. But Jane is having FUN with it damnit shes so LOVEL-

Ok. Well yeah you have a point but can you go back to roleplaying.

Well thats the end of janes interaction. Moving onto Jake!

4166 ANNND theres Jake talking about wearing a generally feminine thing and considering it genuinely how he pulls it off. Gender nonconforming as fuck really. Both Jane and Jake. Like daaamn go for it i know what you are. Wear whatever the fuck you want to wear!

Man. Looking at all these movies as a movie nerd its so insane. They revolve around curses from thousands of years ago, green menaces and demons, and blue lady femme fatales that guide the protagonist figure. Also Weekend at bernies 2 SUCKS. Wait holy cow is that smurfette.

Anyways the thing that stands out i guess within these pages is how Jake doesn't exactly cherrypick here. hes pretty upfront with some things and hypothesies.

You think your bed is some sort of electronic gadget. You're pretty sure those bedpost globes are supposed to glow like light bulbs under certain circumstances. But you've never been able to figure out what purpose it serves.

You have never seen a movie you didn't like, you are pretty sure. People give you a hard time for that though.

This is your collection of beauties. But you don't call them that to anyone but yourself in private, because somehow even you are aware of how dorky that sounds.

I guess Jake strikes me as the type to know quite a lot but never know exactly what to do about it. Live and let live while it lives.

You are oft-times the recipient of a good ribbing from Jane on account of your peculiar fascination with blue movie ladies. You don't have to justify yourself to her though. What is even her deal? 

Hmm. I don't have anything to say it's 12 am i should probably sleep. So with page 4171 of Jake kissing Neytiri, mirroring a wish to be the hero that Egbert had on page 223, I bid you all adieu- hey whats with these losers and kissing their damn posters.

Jake: Stop kissing stupid poster.

Yes, that was a waste of time. Definitely. It's definitely not something you spend much time doing whenever you are alone, which is always.

Here he is being aware again to some regards, and trying to brush stuff off by showing how aware he is of what others think and how stupid some bullshit is. Which is intriguing to me. The way Jake talks about himself and his internal dialogue and thoughts is so intriguing to me, that often he brings up what he likes, what he thinks, vs relaity, vs others expectations, etc. Hes rather introspective and aware of things, and it's jsut. It's just interesting. Anyways I'm going to pop off to bed now. Goodnight all. I will be thinking about Egbert is so very forthright with whats good and whats not and Janes general deal for theatrics on her thoughts and Jakes more observant nature and write something tomorrow. Leave me a nice reblog or comment or drop a letter in my anon box.

[elminx]

How did it become the end of August already? (It will likely be the beginning of September before I publish this…) It seems like only last week that I was writing about the tiny bulbs bursting out of the ground in my spring garden.

We are still most of a month out for the equinox but here in Southern New England, we have definitely entered harvest season. The energy shift is palpable. Suddenly there are long shadows in my sun-loving garden and my locust tree has begun the slow process of dropping her leaves. Just last night we experienced our first truly chilly night in months. As a witch, I feel a natural call to honor these seasonal shifts – not as some sort of ritual born from the pages of a book – but as it happens in front of me.

I have a complicated relationship with the Wheel of the Year. As an astrologer, the equinoxes and solstices will always be days of celebration as they mark the quarters of the year. The rest becomes murkier where it does not always align with my environment. There is no spring in sight around Brigid’s Day which is always one of the coldest and most bleak moments in the deep of winter. Likewise, we do not have a grain harvest where I live. Our first real harvest comes in early July with the sweet corn but I am not a farmer and a corn holiday would mean nothing to me.

I’m sure that harvest means something different for every one of us and that is part of the beautiful abundance of the harvest season. My secret to celebrating the harvest in my household and my coven: we celebrate OUR harvests.

For me, the first harvest is always tomato season. For nearly 10 years now, I have been a member of a local CSA Farm Share; every year, I buy a full share from them in the fall and then we get our percentage of their harvest every week throughout the following growing season. The best part of this experience is their Pick-Your-Own fields full of fresh flowers and – come August – tomatoes! Once the tomatoes start to ripen it’s a mad dash to eat, can, and preserve as many of them as possible. I truly cannot think of anything more abundant than that!

Indeed, Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs lists the magical properties of tomato as Prosperity, Protection, and Love. For me, both Prosperity and Protection make good additions to the idea of the harvest celebration in general. Make use of the abundance when you have it and protect your present and future “crop”, so to speak. As such, I tend to include basil, thyme, and oregano from my garden as they correspond well with these intentions but of course, add the herbs that you most work with or are drawn to.

Creating Sacred Space

As I mentioned above, the Harvest season doesn’t really begin in my life until the tomatoes at my CSA Farmshare have ripened. This means that it’s go-time in my household. The first thing that I do is clean my kitchen altar.

Though a number of years ago, I started with using my kitchen table as a kitchen altar, I have upgraded since to a large multi-tiered plant stand that lives in my kitchen window. This is my most seasonal altar. Though a few of my plants are permanent residents, most of the rest of the items on the altar reflects the natural cyclical changes of my magic as I shift and flow with the energy of the year. After packing up the seashells and giving the surfaces a good clean, I add in pinecones and other Autumnal items. I also bring up the spooky which is always low-key present in my household but doubles during the season of the witch.

Once my altar has been updated, I turn to making my first dish out of my tomato harvest. This is almost always Farmshare Tomato Soup. Tomato soup is a staple in my household – we’re OG fanatics of the grilled cheese and tomato soup combo and always need to keep some in the house. But we make it ourselves – we even can a large quantity of it for late-Winter consumption. The following recipe cannot be canned though – please do your research on pressure or water canning – it can be really dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing!

Farmshare Tomato Soup

4 cups tomato* – prosperity and protection 1 red bell pepper – sweetness 2-3 carrots – abundance 1 fresh onion – protection 2 stalks celery – optional 3-5 garlic cloves – protection Parsley – Protection Ginger – money/success Turmeric – Purification Oregano – luck Red Pepper Flakes – also optional 3 cups Broth or Water Salt – Cleanses Black Pepper – banishes unwanted energies Oil – dealers choice here, I use butter

Making this tomato soup is so simple. Heat your oil with the red pepper flakes if using, add in your aromatic vegetables and cook on low until they are very tender/translucent. Add in your tomatoes and whatever spice you’re using – salt and pepper to taste. Once the tomatoes have released their liquid, add in up to 3 cups of broth. This is sort of dealer’s choice as well, the more liquid you add, the longer your soup may take to cook but the better it will taste. Add enough to make sure all of your food is submerged. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 20 minutes or more. Check your cauldron regularly to make sure there’s enough liquid that the bottom is not burning.

From there, you can eat as-is or blend with either a blender or immersion blender. (Take it off the heat for a couple of minutes before you blend for your own safety!)

This soup is great with grilled cheese, cheese biscuits, or served on its own. You can add a dollop of sour cream, yogurt, or coconut milk before serving for richness which can be really fabulous as well. It’s also great with traditional Italian spices instead of turmeric and ginger and then topped with basil pesto.

Sharing the Harvest with Others

Do you ever have so much abundance that you feel like you could not possibly contain it? That’s how I feel at the height of the tomato season when my entire table is filled with six varietals of tomato, tomatillos, and hot peppers. The next step in my multi-pronged approach to the first harvest is to share this bounty with those that I love. My favorite meal for that is my Farmshare Lasagna.

My farmshare lasagna shares a lot of the same ingredients as my Farmshare Tomato Soup for a very good reason: I am using my harvest (what I get from my farm share) in each recipe. Use what you have is never more suited to the height of August! It’s full of peppers, onion, carrot, garlic, and tomatoes with the edition of Swiss Chard and chevre. I always use sun gold tomatoes for this recipe here – the sweetness of the sun golds is a perfect foil for the sharpness of the cheese and the bitter chard. Everything else in this recipe is negotiable (especially the spices! or add in zucchini or eggplant!) but for me, the chard, goat cheese, and sun golds are a “must”.

Farmshare Lasagna

4 cups Sun Gold or other Yellow or Orange Tomatoes* – protection and prosperity 3-4 Carrots – abundance 1 Bell Pepper – sweetness 1 Fresh Onion – protection 3-5 bulbs Garlic – protection Red Pepper Flakes – protection, optional Parsley – Protection Basil – money/luck Oregano – luck Thyme – money Salt – cleanse Black Pepper – banish unwanted energy Oil – dealer’s choice, I use olive oil here 1 Medium Bunch Swiss Chard – regular or rainbow works here Chevre – 4-8 oz – this really just depends on how much you want to add Lasagna noodles Shredded Cheese for topping, optional

Note: I’m not going to give you the exact amounts here because this depends on the size of your lasagna dish. I measure my dish by the number of noodles I know that I will need for ~3 layers for this recipe since the sauce is chunky and takes up space. I just put them dry into the dish so that I know exactly how much I need.

Making Farmshare lasagna is incredibly simple. You want to precook your lasagna noodles until they are aldente so start your water at the same time as you heat the pan for your sauce. Cook your aromatic vegetables (onion, carrot, garlic, pepper) low and slow until they wilt and become transparent. Add in your sun gold tomatoes and the spices – cook for 10 minutes adding water if necessary. Add swiss chard and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes or so until the chard is cooked. From here you just make a lasagna layering noodles, sauce, and spoonfuls of chevre cheese until you have filled your baking dish. You can top with shredded cheese if you like. Cook at 400 f for 35-40 minutes until the top gets a nice golden coating.

I find lasagna to be a very indulgent meal which makes it perfect for honoring the harvest season. You can share it with family over a bottle of red wine, or add in a fresh salad appetizer, or an apple crisp for a sugary nightcap. It’s great to serve with vegetarian guests since it’s hearty in spite of its lack of meat. (You could also through any number of ground meats into this but I assure you it isn’t necessary).

Revering the Sacredness of the Moment

It sounds so corny to say that every part of life is sacred but for me, the middle of harvest season makes me incredibly aware that every part of life is sacred. I see that as a part of my privilege – having access to farms, being able to trace back to its exact source where my food comes from, all of it allows a connection point to the life cycle pulse of the earth. It is a joy to get to pick my own tomatoes, and strawberries, and apples.

Life can feel so rushed. The harvest is a reminder to slow down for a second and savor this moment of abundance. There are so many ways that you can do this. You can take up jam or salsa making, or learn to pressure or water can. You could throw a party centered entirely around the food that you have an abundance of – how self-indulgent and wonderful! Spend the afternoon in an apple orchard and then ride the hayride back at dusk – dig deep into the moment. Revel in all that has come to pass since it was spring and a time to sew new seeds.

As a kitchen witch, I love to have at least one sinfully delicious meal. For me, that is Tomato Confit. Here we take cherry tomatoes (again, I prefer sun golds here but other varieties would do), cover them in olive oil in a baking pan, add some garlic and herbs and then cook low and slow for hours. 275f for 3 hours or more. Here, again, we get to be self-indulgent – the smell that will slowly overtake your residence is absolutely divine. The goal is to cook it until all of the water has left the tomato and you have beautifully roasted tomatoes in tomato-flavored olive oil. Once cooled, it will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Cherry Tomato Confit 4 cups cherry tomatoes* 1 bulb garlic Spices – dealer’s choice Olive oil to cover

Tomato confit is glorious and can be served in so many ways. It is divine on cracks or bread and pairs well with sharp cheeses. It works great as the basis for a simple sauce for vegetables or pasta. We used it as a pizza topping with chevre and sausage with great success. The tomato flavored oil is great as well – it makes a great olive oil drizzle or base for a salad dressing.

How do you celebrate your harvests? I’d truly like to know.

* I prefer Sun Gold cherry tomatoes for these recipes because they are sweeter but also because I think that their golden orange color goes well with the themes of abundance and prosperity

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[charlotte-liddel]

@adreaminmyheart asked: "Say, what's your favorite food? Mine's tomato soup! I have a special recipe and everything!"

"That's tough to answer, actually. With how many recipes I know and make, its just hard to pin down." Charlotte tapped her own chin in thought, before settling on a thought, "I can at least answer seasonally easy enough. For autumn into winter, especially around my birthday next month, I like a variety of stews. I always tend to fall back on an old fashioned Ratatouille. I generally use vegetables I grow for it too."

She's already reaching into a little sparkling portal with a grin, tail swishing almost excitedly, "I can share the recipe for it if you want. We can also compare notes on your tomato soup recipe, since I have my own variation for my cafe menu. Tomatoes are actually my favorite fruit, so I have a lot of recipes using them."

[breelandwalker]

Harvest Moon - September 28, 2023

The summer heat might be hanging on, but it's time to get excited for autumn shenanigans all the same. Grab your canning supplies and your favorite cider mug - it's time for the Harvest Moon!

Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It does not matter whether the moon occurs before or after the equinox or in which month it falls. In some years, this means the Harvest Moon may occur in October, in which cause the September moon might go by the name of Corn Moon or Rice Moon, depending on where you are.

In 2023, the Harvest Moon falls once more in the month of September. The same will happen in 2024, when the Harvest Moon will also be a supermoon! However, in 2025, the September moon will come early in the month, making it a Corn Moon. The Harvest Moon that year will be in early October.

The September moon is particularly beloved by farmers in the Northern Hemisphere, as it rises earlier and shines brighter than other full moons due to the relative angle of the Earth in relation to the moon during the equinox, which is helpful for lighting up the tail end of those long work days. In addition, the Harvest Moon may also appear full for multiple nights, providing additional illumination for labor or evening strolls. As such, while the peak of the Harvest Moon will occur in the wee hours of September 29th, it will appear to be full on both the 28th and 29th.

Other North American Indigenous names for the September moon include a number of variations of the aforementioned Corn Moon (used by numerous nations), such as Corn Maker Moon (Abenaki), Corn Harvest Moon (Dakota), and Corn Is Harvested Moon (Zuni). Other names refer to seasonal changes or animal behavior, such as Autumn Moon (Cree), Falling Leaves Moon (Ojibwe), Leaves Turning Moon (Anishinaabe), and Rutting Moon (Cree). Some European and modern pagan names for the September moon include Barley Moon (Old English), Singing Moon (Celtic), and Fruit Moon (general).

It's also worth noting that our Jewish friends and neighbors will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah this month, so remember to share your apples and honey and wish them Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year)!

What Does It Mean For Witches?

As autumn begins, we continue to reap what we've sown over the course of the year. It's a time to pause and reflect on what we've accomplished, let go of any unnecessary burdens we're still carrying, and focus on taking care of hearth and home for the cold months ahead. Now is a good time to do one last clutter purge or finish those repairs you've been putting off all summer!

Change is in the air as well, and transformations begun earlier in the year will burst into vibrant life. Just as the flowers bloom in spring, the leaves turn in the fall, and those of us who come alive in the autumn will start to fell that zing coming back.

Community also comes back into focus during harvest time, both because of the sharing of resources and the accompanying start of the school year. Take a moment to reinforce positive and supportive connections with friends and neighbors, or reach out to your local or online circle to strengthen existing bonds.

This a time of great abundance, so if you've been meaning to draw any kind of increase into your life, take steps to do so now. Harness that Harvest Moon energy to help carry you through the lean times in comfort and plenty.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

This is the time for feasting, bonfires, and outdoor gatherings. September and October will give us a few more warm weeks before the weather turns cold and rainy, so make the most of it! Have a potluck supper with a menu made of everyone's favorite seasonal recipes. Visit a local farmer's market and bring home that fresh seasonal produce. Thank the earth for the bounty it provides and renew your promise to be a good steward of the land where you live.

Technically, this is the second "harvest" moon of the year, since the harvest of most seasonal crops began back in August with wheat and corn and late summer fruits. The harvest of corn and grain continues into September and is joined by additional late-season fruits and vegetables, the most iconic of which is the annual apple crop.

Apple-picking is easily my favorite autumn activity and it's fantastic way to get outdoors, get some fresh air, and come home with tasty produce for uses both mundane and magical. From cider to applesauce to pies, apples are delightfully versatile. They also feature in a number of folk traditions and party games which double as divination rituals.

Continue your preparations for winter by canning or preserving fresh foods, hanging harvested herbs and flowers to dry, or refreshing your stocks of moon water and magical oils. Make your own magical brews using a stock pot as a cauldron and soups, stews, punch, cider, and mulled wine as your potions. Kitchen witches, your time is NOW!

Wear the colors of the season boldly and revel in all the gifts you've received and joys you've experienced so far this year. If you've been particularly blessed, pay it forward to share the bounty with others. Reflect on everything you've accomplished, celebrate your progress, and maybe set one or two small goals for the end of the year.

And since the decorations are already appearing in stores, start stocking up for Halloween!

Happy Harvest Moon, witches! 😊🍎

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts

Secular Celebrations - Autumn Equinox

Harvest Moon, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

What Is The Harvest Moon?, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Harvest Moon 2023: The Spiritual Meaning of September's Full Moon, The Peculiar Brunette.

Full Moon 2025 Calendar, Full Moonology.

Rosh Hashanah, Wikipedia.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

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