Good Mabon to All

Fall arrives today. In the northern hemisphere, which happens to be where I live, it is the culmination of the year, the harvest time, the time to celebrate bounty with friends and family and thank the Powers for their blessings. It is my favorite time of the year - cool nights and warmer days, the colors of the foliage, and the variety of fruits and vegetables. And some of the best holidays take place in the autumn - Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I am very lucky with where I live. Although I don't like the snows and cold of winter, I get the incredible beauty and colors of autumn. Many years we have hillsides of mingled gold and russet tones, it's nature's time to paint with a vivid palette and I love the colors. Where I was growing up in Colorado we would get fields of golden Aspen trees carpeting the mountainsides and valleys. Not as colorful as the reds that I get from the maples and sycamores of Minnesota, but equally stunning.

The crisp air of fall mornings are both a promise and a warning. They promise and warn that winter is on its way. Winter traditionally is the season to sit back and relax a bit. But late winter and spring are the season of need when food supplies run short and hunger stalks everyone's footsteps.

So celebrate the bounty of the fall. Lay the tables full with the harvest - the honey from the hives, the gourds from the garden. Pluck the last of the tomatoes, gather the last of the roses and other flowers. Cook the goose brought down from the sky with thanks, and later in the year, roast the turkey and join in prayers with your family. It's autumn, it's your opportunity to celebrate the events - good and bad - that happened over the past year. Good Mabon to All.