This Lammas I had much to celebrate. My personal “harvest” included a transition to new type of position living alongside a house full of women on the University of New Mexico campus. This allows me to use many of the skills I’ve acquired over this lifetime (including patience which I know will be tested many times) and provides time to continue to write and support all the new gardens cropping up (no pun intended) all over the city.
While re-reading the most recent edition of Cosmic Time ezine from astrologer, Allison Rae, I couldn’t help but see myself and this new position reflected in her column. Her Star Priestess website and blog are pure poetry and her insights are uplifting and positive while keeping us well-grounded: in the movements of the planets and the constellations, and in this amazing Universe where our exquisite blue planet is suspended. Here are her thoughts on the power of the ancient celebration of Lammas (traditionally August 1-2) and its late summer dance in the wheel of the year:
“Lammas celebrates the first fruits of the harvest. The masculine and feminine energies have combined to fertilize the crops that are beginning to yield fruits, vegetables and grains. The Earth and the Sun share with us. We, in turn, share with each other…How are we prepared, and not prepared, to live a simpler way, cooperatively, in harmony with our brothers and sisters around the world? How are we taking care of ourselves, each other, and the Earth?” (www.starpriestess.com)
My goal this year, is to be a model for my charges, and to remind them of their responsibility to this planet. There is much to do, for I’m noticing we have not prepared our children well, to quote an old song.
To help readers answer Allison’s insightful question I’m honored to be giving away a copy of the soon-to-be released, The Call of the Land by Santa Fe author and friend, Steve McFadden. Here’s the rules: send me an email with the word “Steve” in the subject line by midnight Sept. 5th to be entered. We’ll announce the winner a few days later. Thanks, Steve, for giving our readers the opportunity to read your newest and deeply provocative book even before the ink had dried.
The Call of the Land
An Agrarian Primer for the 21st Century
- A sourcebook exploring positive pathways for food security, economic stability, environmental health, and cultural renewal
The land calls out to us urgently. Our food and security are on the line. Impending matters of finance, transport, water, oil, climate and diet compel us to respond immediately and wholeheartedly.
We have commenced a transition the likes of which few are prepared for, but to which we all can respond with intelligence. Now is the time to establish a renewed agrarian foundation that is rooted in experience, adapted to the specific needs of our land, oriented to the future, and capable of integrating high-tech, sustainable practices. This is the profound vision skillfully articulated in The Call of the Land.
While no single remedy meets the many challenges to our land and food, hundreds of positive, creative options are already in place for families, neighborhoods, suburbs, and cities. The Call of the Land illuminates the paths forward, revealing a range of models to establish a sustainable agrarian foundation for the fragile high-tech, digital-wave culture emerging so dynamically in our world.
Veteran journalist Steven McFadden is co-author of Farms of Tomorrow, Farms of Tomorrow Revisited, and the author of Profiles in Wisdom, Legend of the Rainbow Warriors, and Odyssey of the 8th Fire.
There are still good planting days for the late fall and even winter garden if you plan to use a cold frame of some sort. In fact some of the best planting days are coming up with this Full Moon in Pisces on Sept. 4. So get ready to plant above-ground annuals (greens, peas, etc.) from 9/3 – 9/4.
Plant or transplant for root growth: 9/5 and again 9/8 – 9/10.
The 12th to the 14th of September is a good time to prune, fertilize, compost and water deeply.
PLEASE REMEMBER: Your food banks, churches and food pantries need your contribution of fresh vegetables and fruits. Don’t let any of your garden excess go to waste. To learn more about the Plant A Row for the Hungry program, visit Road Runner Food Bank’s website at: http://www.rrfb.org/.
“There must be new contact between men and the earth; the earth must be newly seen and heard and felt and smelled and tasted; there must be a renewal of the wisdom that comes with knowing clearly the pain and the pleasure and the risk and the responsibility of being alive in this world.” — Wendell Berry
