We had our first frost of the season last night. Its a few weeks late for our area, and considering that daylight savings time is over in a few days, we might as well get into the darkness and get it over with. I've got several pounds of dried elderberries all ready to be tinctured or made into the cordial we've been talking about on the Yahoo list. Molly came home from school with a deep cough, so it's lucky we have some tincture left over from last year's batch.
Halloween is almost here. In Pagan traditions it is generally a time to honor those who have passed before us, to remember loved ones, and to grieve and love, and let it go. This has been a year that included loss for me, so I will be thinking of my mother on Halloween, and remembering who she was. I think about her every day, but it will be nice to have a day to devote to it. The leaves have turned colors and are beginning to swirl with the slightest breeze. I saw a signature line today that said, "Autumn - a time when every leaf is a bloom". Its interesting to me that this season is such a metaphor for itself. The rushing winds, the fading sun, the brisk chill in the air are so reflective of the way we conduct ourselves. We scurry around preparing for the holidays to come, and burrow into our homes early in the evening.
On a lighter note, this is a shot of the very beginning of our space in the shop in Lititz where we'll be displaying our things. The most recently created products aren't there yet, nor the basket of soap balls, the bayleaf garlands, or the spice clay ornaments cut in tiny gingerbread men, stars, and candy cane shapes. The shop is a co-op of crafters and antiquers, and Lititz is a tourist destination. Right across the street is the Wilbur chocolate company. So now, everytime we go to restock we'll have to stop across the street and see about some Wilbur buds.