Autumn Equinox Coast to Coast
Seasonal inspiration - & breaking news!
“I can face the winter with calm. Crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires. Good work shall be done this winter. Life shall be lived well. The end of the summer is not the end of the world. Here’s to October.” A.A. Milne
The Sun is crossing over the equator and #Monily (#Emica?) prepare for a new season…
East Coast Emily
Happy fall, y’all!
The east coast of America - and especially New England - is known for its fall colors. Folks go on “leaf-peeping” drives through local and national parks. The scuttlebutt this year seems to be that summer droughts will make for a ho-hum peeping experience, but I have my eye on a local arboretum’s ginko grove. “Watch out for the stinky fruit that ripens the same time as the leaves change. “ I live for stinky weird woods stuff!
I was hoping that the days surrounding autumn equinox would find me rounding out my Appalachian Trail journey that started on spring equinox, but we have a hurricane skirting the coast this weekend. So instead I’m embracing the season by hunkering and feasting at a friend’s hobbit-themed party! And the trail is always there in every season.
Summer Emily made a lot of plans that introvert Autumn Emily is suspicious of, as they involve leaving the house after dark. But if you need some inspiration for the new season:
Geeking Out: got some of my friends together for a natural dye themed “Geek Out.” It was a joy to revisit this hobby and share it with others (i.e. tell them more than anyone wants to know about the economic history of alum). In turn they’ll lead upcoming sessions. Friends make everything better!
Holding a jar of madder root while everyone makes their best dye-related puns Making Music: Summer Emily and her flute joined the local community band, which has been active since 1837 (that’s 1337 in American years). Playing music is happy enough, but creating harmonies is a magic I’d forgotten. Highly recommend.
Cozying with Books: Last week I had a minor panic attack about the darkening days - nothing like Monica’s daylight hours, see below! - so I’m trying to refocus on cozy evening activities. Think blanket, hot beverage, and heavy book. It could be time for a Moby Dick re-re-read…
West Coast Monica
The west coast of Scotland is known for many things - mountains and midges to name just two, but also, rain.
Autumn Equinox sees us heading into our wettest and darkest months here in Scotland.
This came into stark reality last week as we headed to Assynt - about as far northwest as you can get - for a weeklong geology tour with the Northwest Highlands Geopark (this part of Scotland is considered the birthplace of modern geology for all the game changing discoveries that happened here in the 1800s - more on this later!). It was a fascinating week, largely absorbed from the comfort of top-to-bottom waterproofs and numerous insulated layers of clothing.
It’s now 6:42am here in Scotland, an hour before equinox official (7:50am BST). We’re driving back south from our soggy science trip. The week turned out to be a pivotal life moment in more ways than one, making this autumn equinox particularly significant for me. Not only did we learn some insane eye-opening geology that is forever going to influence how we interpret and explore Scotland, and further cemented the northwest as our favourite part of the country. We also found out that this particular part of the northwest would soon be our neighbourhood, as during the week we finalised the purchase of a house. I’m keeping the details hush hush for now - but you heard it here first, folks! More on this in the weeks to come.
Autumn equinox has historically been associated a time to celebrate the last of the harvest before entering into wintertime hunker mode. For me, this year’s equinox marks a great divide between the chaos of previous months and finally the opportunity to be settled. We’ve been living from the van full time since February, just managing to keep up with work, personal projects, and perpetual looming questions about where we’ll sleep, shower, and do laundry! It’s exciting - and a huge relief - to finally have some stability on the horizon. I predict come winter solstice, life will be a whole lot different!
My inspo for autumn / winter…
A bit of calm to weather the storm. It may be the rainiest season in Scotland, but my immediate plans after moving largely revolves around, well, doing little else but getting settled. I predict much time spent around a roaring fire.
Geeking out. Like Emily, I’m also embracing nerdy hijinks, mainly by working my way through the Northwest Highlands Geology Excursion Guide!
Soooo much cooking. I love van life but the one thing it’s missing is a proper kitchen. I can’t wait to get back into baking, dehydrating, pickling, fermenting, and all manner of culinary creations!
We both wish our northern hemisphere friends a reflective and joyous turn toward autumn vibes. (Any southern hemisphere readers?) Please do let us know if you have any seasonal activities or wisdom to share!
Sooooooooo exciting Monica!!! Can’t wait to hear more xo