September 21 until October 31
Harvesting the last of the garden, preparing and planning food supply for winter, finishing all ourdoor preparations for winter, and reflecting on the fun parts of the warm months are instincts. Anyone whose DNA is from a place that gets cold in the winter feels the need to prepare.
Our bodies need different kinds of food during the winter. Keeping warm in the cold needs stronger blood circulation in the winter. Your body stays warmer when it’s moving. Movement takes more energy. Calories provide that energy. Sweets and fats are the most concentrated forms of calories/energy. The colder it is, the more we crave them. Choose wisely.
Winter preparation is a very busy time of year. Our minds are full of what we have to get finished before the cold. That keeps your body moving and happy. Spirit delights in the autumn traditions and looks forward to the fun of the winter social season.
I have a harvest checklist that makes sure all of my winter essentials are ready. After decades of trial and error, these are the ingredients I use throughout the year. Some I grow, some I find in the woods, some I buy. Autumn is the last chance to complete the list. The last season of the year. The following are what I add to the list in Autumn. For a full listing, see Harvest List under the Permaculture menu.
Herb Rack
Allspice, Black Pepper, Caraway, Cinamon, Clove, Eucalyptus Oil, Fennel Seeed, Ginger (dried), Licorice root, Nutmeg, Sage, Salt, Star Anise, Thyme, Turmeric
Root Cellar
Onions, Carrots, Apples, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Sweet Potatoes/Yams, Winter Squash
Vegetable and Herb Garden final harvests
Black Cohash, Blue Cohash, Beeswax, Honey, Pine, Wintergreen, Pumpkin Seeds, Rose Hips
Once all of your winter supplies are gathered and stored, it’s time to get your body, mind and spirit all settled in for the colder seasons. Each of your five Common Senses prepares for winter in a different, instinctive way. People feel an undercurrent of stress felt until all five are comforted and ready for cold.
Touch – Your sense of touch is keenly aware of the change of temperature. Stay warm. Keep moving. Traditional comfort clothes like sweaters, vests, jackets, coats, scarves, hats, and gloves reappear like old friends. Food is almost all served hot now. The familiar indoor sports social traditions begin again. Outdoor traditions like final harvests, apple picking, decorating with mums, pumpkins, haybales and cornstalks all intensify as the days get shorter.
Sight – Enjoy your sense of sight with painting or photographing foliage, and the deeper blue sky. A fun time of finishing all outdoor projects before it gets too dark. Gather up all of your unfinished indoor projects and finish them before starting new ones…but have fun while picking out the new ones. Use the enthusiasm for starting the new projects as motivation to finish the old ones.Try hard not to have more than three projects going at once.
Taste – Craving certain spices and foods this time of year is instinctive. Your body needs help fighting against all of the illnesses that come with winter like colds, flu, viruses and infections. A strong immune system will fight off most minor illnesses by itself. Spices are medicines in disguise. Pumpkin pie spice just happens to be made of some powerful medicines that help with winter illnesses. Our bodies know it, and crave it in everything. We crave fats because we need to lubricate our skin and tissues against the cold. Dry skin makes you feel colder. Plant fats and oils, butter, cheeses and animal fats lubricate your skin from the inside out. Choose wisely. No symptoms is no problem. Too many fats and sugars cause symptoms. Use honey or maple syrup with pumpkin pie spice on any cooked fruit tastes amazing and calms your cravings…without side effects. This is also the beginning of bread season in my house. Nothing more comforting than a piece of warm bread with a bit of butter.
Smell – Autumn is the season for your calming sense of Smell. Your memory resides in this part of you. Memory is triggered by feeling cold, seeing leaves, tasting traditional flavors, smelling woodsmoke, and hearing stories of times past with family and friends. All of these are parts of Autumn. All are appreciated the most by this physical sense. Enjoying traditions and being comforted by familiar holiday season routine calms your mind and spirit.
Hearing – Traditionally quieter, indoor, shorter days mean more time to think about the year’s harvest. There is more to harvest than food, that’s just about your body. Mind and spirit also harvested from your last year.
Did you accomplish what you wanted to with your choices from the last year? Are you happy? If not, what needs to be changed or figured out over the winter to improve it? Your mind naturally begins reflecting on inner changes this time of year because of the shorter days. Change this winter’s routine to be happier than you were last winter. Your spirit needs quiet times to whisper intuitions and ideas to your mind. Enjoy the longer night. Enjoy the quiet times to become happier.
