How I am transitioning into Autumn
>>the start of the contraction, a reset and savouring now.
As I sit here and write I can see a large bowl of apples, a trug full of potatoes freshly dug from the ground and another bowl of slowly ripening tomatoes in shades of yellow, orange and red (and “eat me now”) colours. Summer is over and the Autumn bounty is here.
Autumn, for me, feels like a little bit like a reset. A time to review life and decide what to keep, what to compost and how to create a home that will hold us during the long cold months to come. What resources do we need? What needs to be moved on? What needs a clean and a sort? What food and experiences would we love to have? How will I keep myself “happy” and at peace in this season.
Our Summer was short, sharp and hot. I think it was about 6 weeks all in all. We will still get warm afternoons but our mornings are definitely cooling down. The other day it was 6 degrees C which is a big change. Within this move into March (and only weeks away from the Autumn Equinox or Mabon) I am starting to think about what I need to do to transition in Autumn. What are the ways that I want to feel nourished and thrive as it starts to cool down? And what do I need to do in the garden?
If you want to go deeper into the Autumn Equinox with prompts, ideas and space to make notes you can download my free Autumn Equinox workbook from last year here.
The Autumn Dream:
So here is a bit of a dream, wish, maybe to do list because I like to keep it fluid and see how I feel in the moment. I create a framework and flow within that. There are no hard and fast rules. There is no pressure. It has to still follow the mantra of “Finding what feels good”.
In the Garden
Collecting seeds. I have started doing this already but they need to be stored properly. So far I have collected carrot, fennel, coriander, sweet pea and cannellini bean seeds and a few of the lovely corn cockle Agrostemma that I grew this year.
Tidying up the apple prunings - the prunings from the summer trim of the apple, pear and apricot trees need to be dealt with. I don’t have the wrist or time to spend snipping each one into smaller pieces so they will compost down so they’re just in a big pile. Likely they will go into the first outdoor fire of the season. I have taken some of the leaves off and used them for mulch in the final sowing of carrots and brassicas.
Add a generous layer of compost/mulch to the garden beds and around the fruit trees and rhubarb - our compost is a long cold compost. We don’t really do all the fancy layering to make it into a hot compost so it often looks more like mulch and I just have weeds to deal with. There is a pile ready to go that can go onto one of the beds and then we will turn the next pile and let it “cook” down longer. And into that bed we will turn the huge pile of greens and browns that have come out of the garden this summer to start the next batch.
Keep talking to the tomatoes - well not actually but they need to keep going. They’re only just starting to come on now.
Keep adding brassicas and root vege - I think I have another 6 weeks or so of growing time up my sleeve.
At Home
Spring cleaning is actually something I do twice a year. Living near big mountains made of schist stone and in a high wind environment we get a lot of schist dust on everything at a hot summer so every surface will get a good dust.
Beeswax Candles - nothing says Autumn like the smell of beeswax candles. I’ll find the ones I have and buy a few more from good NZ companies with safe wicks. As the nights draw in I’ll put the candles on.
Blankets - as much as I can I give all the blankets a wash during the Summer so they dry quickly. There are still a couple of the big ones to do and then it will be time to lay them out on all the places we like to curl up and read.
Sheepskins shaken- we have a few sheepskins from the amazing Wilson and Dorset in Wānaka and I like to give these a good shake outside.
Foraging - as well as foraging for Elder berries and Rosehips I’ll go foraging for nature items that represent Autumn. Oak leaves turning colours, acorns, chest nuts, lots of different leaves of different colours (Arrowtown is good for this), pine cones, dried flowers and dried harakeke seed pods. I’ll make an Autumn mantle and an Autumn wreath.
Essential Oils - my favourites for this time of the year are clove, ginger, cinnamon, orange, star anise. I’ll do more on these in a later post.
Order the Firewood - it is definitely time to order the fire wood for our wood burner. And then we will spent a good afternoon stacking it. Nothing like outdoor tasks for a “free” cardio/strength workout.
Into the woods - go outside more often. Everyday. Find a place to walk, sit, think, dream, and smell Autumn. Our bodies are more in tune with the pace of nature then the pace of technology. Reduce the noise, reduce the eye strain, reduce the distractions (to buy, create, do, more), reduce the need to be productive. I want to drink milo and tea over a fire amongst the trees. To go mushroom spotting (not educated enough to forage) and blackberry foraging. To smell the earth and dirt. To remind myself I am not separate from nature. Into the woods. My favourite place is somewhere off the beaten track in Arrowtown.
New Pyjamas - I need something super warm and soft but easily removable due to getting hot at night (thanks peri-menopause).
In the Kitchen
Baking Bread- my bread baking goes by the way side a bit in the summer as it is just too hot to have the oven on. But I am back at it and love this wholemeal bread recipe from Felicity Cloake / The Guardian. Guarantee no fail and gives me that beautiful feeling of everything is going to be okay. Bread and tea do that for me.
Making sipping broths and stock - I am quite happy with drinking a good mug of homemade broth for lunch. Filled with so much goodness I usually have a chicken base but also love experimenting with different flavours. I am so inspired by Tara Lanich-Labrie and her super colourful sipping broths. Her book is amazing also.
Still preserving - after the apricots I have taken a little break but I can see that I’ll need to get back into it with the apples.
Apples anything - I think also it’s time for more apple pie, apple crumble, apple muffins, apple sauce - all the apple things!
Finishing the pantry - I still need to put all the baking goods away and will have a review of the cookbooks to remind myself of all the knowledge I already have at my fingertips for nourishing our bodies and souls this Autumn. I will also do a bulk order of beans and pulses for soups and stews (an Instant Pot is on the wish list too).
New cleaning supplies - I am trying to find some nice, durable and effective cleaning cloths that don’t cost a lot of money (so let me know if you know of a good brand) and will refresh all our cleaning bottles with my home made recipes. I need a re-up of essential oils for keeping the bugs away, cleaning and bringing that lovely Autumn smell to the home. I am going to look at supporting local NZ brands more for this as well.
Autumn in my Business
For some time now I have been pulling back from constant content creation on social media (burnout much?) and again looking to what feels good - like being here on Substack. But, I am still in business and want to keep supporting women in a way that feels true to my values and is meaningful. With a little digging (no pun intended) I have a little something in the works which beautifully brings together business, motherhood, sustainability/regenerative living, seasonally living, (urban) homesteading and the slow life - all in one. I have finally created something that brings it altogether which I am so excited about. So stay tuned for that.
And so I continue to find what feels good in my business while still supporting my beautiful clients who are also doing the same. We are shifting beliefs, aligning to our values, growing in confidence and generating an income for our household that feels so good.
How do you plan to transition to Autumn? Is it even something that you think about?
Let me know in the comments what you’re looking forward to (I can’t wait for the trees to change colour - Queenstown is at her best in the Autumn!).
x Olivia
