“…there is a clarity about September. On clear days, the sun seems brighter, the sky more blue, the white clouds take on marvelous shapes; the moon is a wonderful apparition, rising gold, cooling to silver; and the stars are so big. The September storms… are exhilarating…”
— Faith Baldwin
Every new month feels like a bit of renewal, but there’s something special about September, something that feels comforting and as though the breeze should taste of apples.
The name “September” comes from an old Roman word, “septem,” which actually means 7. September was the seventh month of the year on the Roman calendar, it wasn’t until 451 BC that the months of January and February were added to the calendar, making September the ninth month.
September is seen by many to be such a pleasant time of the year. Summer is drawing to a close and there are many signs that the next season in nature is gearing up. Autumn is a spectacular season and nature’s last celebration before the colder, bleak winter months. Colours are golden and rich, with russets and all shades of orange and red. It’s quite the display as the leaves in the trees begin to turn from their rich green to the yellow and red shades that can look like the trees are ablaze. Flowering green ivy is one of the few plants to flower with little green and yellow flowers in the autumn. It’s important for pollinators like bees and butterflies that are still active at this time and on a warm, sunny autumn day you’ll see lots of insects buzzing around it, feasting on the nectar.
Cooler nights start chasing away the heat of the day and it’s a time to finish the year’s harvest and celebrate bountiful blessings. Plenty of time is still spent outside enjoying our gardens and the wildlife feasting on their foraging in preparation for leaner times ahead. It’s a perfect time of year to create a compost heap for kitchen waste, if you don’t already, which may provide some hibernating space for animals and produce a rich fertiliser for your garden. You can still spot many dragonflies on the wing and swallows and house martins will start to gather before they undertake their long journeys south, to seek the warmer weather in Africa.
The hedgerows will soon be filled with new mouth-watering delights too. Keep your eyes peeled for ripe elderberries, sloes, rosehips and wild raspberries. We love to harvest the sloe berries for a delicious home made sloe gin, and being out and about along the country lanes gathering berries is quite a family treat. Of course we make sure we leave plenty for the small birds, badgers and foxes that love to forage for them too.
Conker season is also getting in to full swing and children will be collecting them for their conker competitions. Conkers is a traditional children’s game in Great Britain and Ireland played using the fallen seeds of the horse chestnut trees. The name ‘conker’ is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. This childhood game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded onto a piece of string, and they take turns striking each other’s conker until one breaks.
As the summer shades into Autumn, the Sun passes from the northern hemisphere towards the equator for the Equinox occurring around September 22. This Autumnal equinox marks the point in the calendar at which the length of night and the length of day are almost exactly equal.
Time along the coast is still enjoyable and the waters still fairly warm, where plenty of wildlife will be found in the rock pools. It’s truly a spectacular time of year and the symbolism of September focuses on refocusing our inner energy. A time where using your inner energy, you may be able to achieve many things in your life. Good fortunes are something to keep in mind in September. Sounds pretty good to us!
