Hello friends!
How are you? For those of us in the U.K., our summer days (which have been a bit of a mixed bag) are drawing to a close and we are beginning to see and feel the signs of autumn; a nip in the early morning air, hedgerows laden with red rose hips and hawthorn berries, the occasional crunch of a fallen hazelnut or conker underfoot and some fresh and exhilarating winds.
I love the autumn (I like each season on its unique way). It seems to bring with it a fullness; deep, rich colours of golden brown, scarlet and orange, the aforementioned food laden hedgerows and woods and the sense of the natural world collecting, storing and preparing for sparse days ahead.
It is often a season which heralds change; a new academic year with all the opportunities and challenges that brings. Many of us can find change unsettling; sometimes it comes with a sense of loss; one comfortable and loved rhythm being replaced by something new. Last autumn both the boys moved out, and I had an aching sense of emptiness. On reflection, this might have been in part the oft cited “empty nest syndrome”. Life had so many additional storms and hurdles at that time that I simply had to put one foot in front of the other, rely on the routines and habits we have in place, and cry out to our Heavenly Father for his strength each day; no space for reflection!
This year, by God’s grace, it feels very different and I am so very thankful. We have adjusted to the boys being away and are creating new rhythms. Plus, neither of them are far; one in our nearest city to the north and one in our nearest city to the south. So they are home often. They are settled in their own churches with good friends. They have made wise choices. Rhythm Dude worked from home over the summer as a lifeguard in a pool down the road. It was lovely having him home, but taking him back to university was infused with excitement; a house share with friends, church week away by the Cornish sea and new roles, responsibilities and fun to be had. Lanky Dude worked in his home city over the summer, but it’s been lovely to see him as he popped down for week ends. He has shown huge resilience as he faced many challenges and uncertainties last year. His roots have gone deeper into God’s Word and he has had numerous lessons in placing his trust in God. His life is full…overly so sometimes but again it is so good to know he is happy, enjoying his work and surrounded by good friends and an excellent church.
This has been a longer than normal intro, but lots of catching up to do!
However this season finds you, in a place of fullness or emptiness, exciting opportunities or anxiety provoking challenges, I pray you too will know the unshakable love of God and be able to find small moments of beauty and goodness in the midst of the mundane.
Molly x
Nature notes and homestead jottings
I always feel it is providential that the weeks which are busiest with picking and preserving are during the summer holidays. I think it is actually by design; if my understanding is correct, as far back as the Elizabethan era Oxford and Cambridge universities used to stop lectures to allow students to go home and help with the harvest. Our school holidays have been timed ever since to allow children to help bring the harvest in, and thus it is still today.
So, our freezer is a little fuller of black currants, redcurrants, gooseberries, plums and corgettes in various forms. I’ve made jams and chutneys and tried my hand again at bottling. I’ve been drying leaves for tea over the winter; hawthorn, nettle and mint. We’ve not had many apples this year, so they get eaten as soon as I’ve picked them. Tomatoes, which I’m generally not very successful with, have done better this year and I’ve even managed one jar of bottled tomato sauce. From the hedgerows we’ve picked blackberries and sloes which are turning into a deep purple sloe gin for Christmas gifts
As I’m thankful for the plentiful harvest of our green and pleasant land, I’m also acutely mindful of millions of our brothers and sisters around the world for whom harvest hasn’t come and for whom daily life is a struggle against starvation. A very mixed blessing.
Home school journal
We stopped our structured learning during August which was great! This gives me time to catch up on all the jobs I’ve left for the year, tidy a few overflowing cupboards, read a little more and meet up with friends. The above picture is of Lytes Cary Manor, which we enjoyed exploring with friends.
Last year I lurched into a new year of home ed, exhausted, unprepared and heart sore; this year I’ve made time and had head space to plan more thoroughly and we seem to have slid into a new term remarkably seamlessly, with several new activities as well as some existing ones to fall back into like a comfortable old armchair. Very thankful.
Musings for our time
I’ve always had a leaning towards being a “prepper” long before I’d ever heard the term and maybe even before it became thing. This could partly be because I’ve lived in countries where one couldn’t rely upon there being a ready supply of food on supermarket shelves, the electricity supply could be switched off and even water was a precious commodity. However, I think it’s more than that. I’ve always had a vague sense that there may be times ahead where food will be less readily accessible than it is at present and that learning skills to become more self reliant might be necessary either for ourselves or to pass on to our children.
The minor hiccups in our food supply chain during covid and the lockdowns came as a surprise however, and made me re think wise stewardship versus trusting in God to meet our daily needs. I always keep a stack of tins, some dried pasta and maybe some dried milk powder. I don’t usually have extra loo roll! Having this meant I had no need to join the crowds in a rush of panic buying; I checked our tins were still in date and sat tight.
However, with all the accompanying media frenzy, I started to feel quite guilty about my tin supply. And, should I simply be trusting in God? I mulled over these for several months before two podcasts gave clarity to my thinking. The first was Carl from the Self sufficient Hub; he tackled the whole panic buying vs being prepared with sound common sense. If as many of us who are able have enough food to last us a week/a month then if there is a problem in the food supply chain there will be less pressure on the shops and those who are unable to buy or store in advance will be able to have first access to what is there. He challenged us to consider how often we shop, and see if we can have enough access to stored, home grown or foraged food to last us double that. So, if we do a weekly shop, can we prepare to go two weeks without a shop?
The Revs on the Irreverand podcast then gave me some good Biblical teaching. My favourite verses are from Proverbs 31, the wife who fears the Lord. She prepares for winter by ensuring her family are well dressed and warm. She works hard, extends her arms to those in need, is herself clothed in strength and dignity and can laugh at the days to come. She has no fear of the cold and barren days of winter as she has prepared well for herself and her household.
In our reading too, we learn that preparing for the winter used to be a routine part of rural living. Skills were passed down from generation to generation. There has been a resurgence in interest of these old skills, of which I endeavour to be a part.
So, what happened with all those tins in 2020? Did I really need them or could I just have relied upon God? Both, in fact. When we were poorly with the lurgy, our amazing neighbours and friends brought round meals in abundance. We probably had at least two weeks of meals, plus cakes, bread, milk and other treats; the tins stayed put. However, during the weeks following, I was too tired to go to the shops and we got through most of them. So, my thinking has come full circle; I’ll continue to harvest, preserve and store as best I can, aiming to increase my knowledge and skills each year. I’ll also keep my store of tins for unexpected emergencies. And I’ll know that, having done all this, I can indeed trust in my Heavenly Father to provide what we need.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 31:25 NIV
Mothering through the seasons 