This month, we celebrate the Full Harvest Moon on the 26th and the Autumn Equinox on the 22nd.
As I reflect on the harvests of this year, the amount of food that we get from our garden adds some to our meals, but does not make a huge dent in the total grocery budget, but there is some satisfaction to tasting something we planted from seed and now has produced a vegetable that adds not just flavor and substance to a meal, but also the Spirit of working with nature and learning something new about plants and nurturing them every year.
We do get enough herbs to dry, including thyme, tarragon, oregano, rosemary, lemon balm, lemon grass, chives and basil to get us through the whole winter. Then there are the herbs we have dried for healing uses, including comfrey, goldenrod, rue, mugwort and lambs ear.
Most significantly we get a great deal of comfort, joy and peace of mind from spending time in the garden, and every year even though we always spend some time dealing with pests like earwigs and grasshoppers, we also have the pleasure of watching birds, bees, squirrels, garden snakes and other creatures.
We see nature demonstrating to us how different creatures work together and play together, when one bird is bringing food back to its partner and nest, or when the squirrels jump for joy when they find something to eat. There is a squirrel that loves laying on the branch of a tree to watch us, and so have the birds, like the flickers, hawks, owls, towhees, sparrows, chickadees and others.
There are also rabbits who live out front who just continue to graze without running away because they know we are not going to hurt them, and apparently, they stay out of the garden.
It is very relaxing to just sit in the garden watching the stars, moon and sky as well as the creatures and plants. We also have a fire pit and like to make a bonfire every full moon. Way better than watching TV.
Which also brings to mind the currently fight over data centers. AI is plugged into a lot of things and I don't use it much. By now, we all have to deal with robots answering phones at companies we call. But when it popped into my text messaging saying that it could answer my messages for me, I deleted that. I will answer messages myself. I also write all these newsletters myself. I will not have AI write these for me. Even though Google always uses AI for searches these days, I still research the old fashioned way, looking up the various websites it brings up, rather than trusting AI.
So we have harvested some useful things from AI, but I will not have a smart speaker in my home that will record all I do and say. That is like having a spy in your kitchen. And although I use GPS to find my way to places, sometimes it makes mistakes. So I limit my interactions with all AI. We need to use other sources beyond AI to verify important things. Having a camera send a speeding ticket is one thing. These Flock and Axon cameras are not that. We do not need cameras that record everywhere we go all the time.
I agree that the data centers are a problem and all these devices are about spying on us, and I am against creating facilities that waste millions of gallons of water a day. That is insane. Our farmers and ranchers need to water to produce our food. And we need the water for our every day living to drink, cook, and clean. It has also been reported by ranchers and farmers that these developments have negative effects on the people, plants and animals who are near them.
To balance, I like to read books that are ink on paper. Studies are now showing that students who read from books and use pen and paper have better learning and retention this way, compared to doing all on screens. And I still get a local newspaper delivered every morning so that I can get the local news and do a crossword puzzle with my coffee.
So that leads into the Fall Equinox theme as well. Keeping balance in our life between work and play is important. Some people are successful at work because they are always gone, working hard and making money, but then they have no time for nurturing their private interests and personal relationships. We all seem to be more conscious of that and are taking steps to balance.
This is also the time of year when they days become shorter, the temperatures drop and we will spend more time indoors. Time to go within. Time to read and study. Time to give serious thought to what's next. The time of year when we will spend more time indoors, just like spring and summer we have more time outdoors. Balance.
This quarter of the year contains most of our emotionally laden holidays that can be incredibly festive for some people, but sad for others. Once again, we look for the balance in our lives. Which people do we want to spend more time with? Which ones less time. We make choices for balance. Who will be with us from here forward? Where do we want to spend our time?
So as we savor the bounty of our year, let us give some thought to how we balance everything.
