harvest moon

I have just been nibbling some rowan berries – berries of the mountain ash – as well as some blackberries, and an apple picked from the tree. It is late September and the equinox is due in a day or two. And at the same time we have a bright harvest moon these days, a full moon. Once upon a time, that moonlight would have been very helpful in the labour intensive process of harvesting the crops. Nowadays, of course, farming practices have changed in most places, and things have become mechanised.

But this term, harvest moon, still resonates in me. And today, nibbling these berries, it reminds me that our food grows organically. It's not produced. Ultimately nature is providing us with our sustenance. It's a miracle and it's one that we so easily forget. We take things for granted, especially when we buy our food in shops and restaurants. And that's why I like to forage like this, just picking berries and fruit, leaves – whatever I notice that seems edible. It's a great reminder that we are given this life for free, and it is sustained, for free, by nature. We are part of this great dance of life. There's a great beauty in it and we are lucky. And today this harvest moon is reminding me of just how connected we are to nature and the rest of existence.