A Letter for the New Season
September
A LETTER FOR THE TURNING OF THE SEASON
Welcome the the seventh edition of A Winter's Tale.
September usually arrives with the first tentative signs of autumn. A cooler morning or the first few yellow leaves among the green. The evenings beginning to draw in and lamps being turned on again.
This year the change began much earlier. Weeks of heat and hardly any rain here in the Surrey Hills have left the fields bleached and dusty. Grass has faded to the colour of straw and the earth is crunchy beneath our feet. Trees have begun dropping their leaves before autumn has properly arrived, shed because they are trying to survive.
There are still warm days but the heat doesn't last in to the evening. The light begins to alter in September and there is a freshness in the air. In the hedgerows blackberries wait to be picked and hawthorn berries and rosehips glow against the dusty green.
September feels like a new beginning, a left over from school days and the urge to buy new shoes and stationery is still there. I do love a new notebook and pen!
This month we have the Equinox, Michealmas and The Harvest Moon.
So bring sunglasses, an umbrella and a fleece as who knows what the weather will be like.
You are very welcome here.
Heidi x
THE ALMANAC
🌕 Full moon : (Harvest Moon) 26 September
♍ Virgo until 22 September
♎ Libra from 23 September
✨ Constellation : Pegasus
🌸 Flower : Michaelmas Daisy - Endurance and farewell
🌿 Herb : Sage - Wisdom and protection
🦔 Animal : Hedgehog - Preparation and resourcefulness
📜 Dates : ⚖️ Autumn Equinox - 23 September
🍂 Michaelmas - 29 September
September's Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox. Traditionally farmers would have worked into the evening gathering crops by the light of the moon.
Virgo - Linked with the harvest, discernment and usefulness.
Libra - Represented by the scales and associated with balance, fairness and the weighing of things, it arrives at the equinox, a time of the year when light and darkness appear to be equal.
Pegasus - Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, becomes prominent in autumn skies. Its most recognisable feature is the Great Square of Pegasus, formed by four bright stars that make a large, slightly uneven square.
Look towards the east or south-east on a clear September evening. The Great Square can serve as a useful signpost to other autumn constellations. It may take a moment to see it: the square is much larger than many people expect, and its centre contains relatively few stars visible to the naked eye.
In myth, Pegasus sprang from the blood of Medusa and was later ridden by the hero Bellerophon. After their adventures, Zeus placed the winged horse among the stars.
Michaelmas Daisy - As many summer flowers fade, Michaelmas daisies begin to fill borders with clouds of purple, blue, pink and white. Their name comes from their habit of flowering around the Feast of St Michael on 29 September.
The name covers several kinds of autumn-flowering aster. Their open, daisy-shaped flowers provide valuable late nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects, making them as useful as they are cheerful.
They are flowers for the changeover: summer colour continuing into autumn, just as the balance of the year tips towards longer nights.
Sage - Common sage, Salvia officinalis, is a small evergreen shrub with soft grey-green leaves. It thrives in sun and free-draining soil and, once established, copes better with dry conditions than many garden herbs.
Its botanical name is linked to the Latin salvare, meaning to save or heal, reflecting the long history of sage in household remedies. Today it is most familiar from the kitchen, where its earthy flavour belongs naturally with onions, apples, squash, cheese and roast vegetables.
Gather leaves on a dry day and use them fresh, or dry small sprigs for winter. Sage is powerful, so a few leaves are usually enough.
Hedgehog - During September, hedgehogs are busy feeding and building the fat reserves they will need for hibernation. They may travel surprisingly far after dark in search of beetles, caterpillars, worms and other food.
In a dry year, their natural food can be harder to find. A shallow dish of fresh water is one of the most useful things a garden can offer. If you leave food, use meat-based cat or dog food or specialist hedgehog food — never bread and milk.
Before strimming long grass or moving a heap of leaves, check carefully for a sleeping hedgehog. A gap of about 13cm at the bottom of a fence can also help them move safely between neighbouring gardens.
The autumn equinox - The equinox occurs at 1.06am BST. The word comes from the Latin for “equal night,” although day and night are not precisely twelve hours everywhere. From here, the nights in the Northern Hemisphere grow longer than the days.
Michaelmas - The Feast of St Michael and All Angels was once one of the great markers of the year: a quarter day for rents, contracts and employment, and a celebration close to the completion of harvest.
In the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, Mrs Bennet reports that the new tenant of Netherfield is expected to “take possession before Michaelmas.” Jane Austen did not need to explain the date. Her readers understood just like we might understand “before Christmas.” Later in the novel, there is gossip that Mr Bingley might leave Netherfield entirely at Michaelmas.
Michaelmas was also linked with the harvest. A goose was traditionally served for dinner, and eating one was said to bring financial good fortune during the coming year. Michaelmas hiring and mop fairs brought employers and workers together, while markets and celebrations marked the end of one agricultural term and the beginning of another.
In The Hedgerow
Things to spot this month:
- Spider's webs outlined by the first heavy dew
- Rosehips turning from orange to polished red
- Rowan berries reddening
- The first conkers dropping from horse chestnut trees
- The first fungi after autumn rain
Seasonal Table
Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake
The taste of early autumn.
Makes 9-12 squares
You will need a 20cm square cake tin
Oven: 180C / 160C fan / Gas 4
Ingredients:
For the cake:
150g unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for the tin
150g light brown soft sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 medium cooking apple, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
125g blackberries, washed and dried
For the crumble topping:
75g plain flour
50g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
40g demerara sugar
25g oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
1, Heat the oven and grease and line the tin with baking paper.
2, Make the crumble topping first. Rub the cold butter into the plain flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles uneven crumbs. Stir in the demerara sugar, oats and cinnamon, then set aside.
3, Beat the softened butter and light brown sugar together until pale and creamy.
4, Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
5, Fold in the self-raising flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the milk and mix just until the batter is smooth.
6, Fold the apple pieces through the batter, then spread it evenly in the prepared tin.
7, Scatter the blackberries over the surface, pressing them very lightly into the batter. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top.
8, Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the topping is golden and a skewer inverted into the cake - avoiding a piece of fruit - comes out clean.
9, Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift onto a rack. Cut into squares when warm or completely cool.
Remember when picking blackberries to choose the berries above dog height! Return home with stained fingers, with as many berries eaten along the way as made it into the bowl.
Until next month
Thank you for being here again. September seems a blurring of Summer and Autumn. The mornings may start chilly but the afternoons quite often turn hot. What is the first sign that tells you autumn has truly arrived? It might be something you see, hear, smell or do. Write it down, photograph it or just watch for it during the month.
Or make a list (I DO love a list): Ten things I would like to notice, gather, cook or do before September ends.
Until October...
Heidi x