september plans and theme

September
by Helen Hunt Jackson

The golden-rod is yellow;

The corn is turning brown;

The trees in apple orchards

With fruit are bearing down.

The gentian's bluest fringes

Are curling in the sun;

In dusty pods the milkweed

Its hidden silk has spun.

The sedges flaunt their harvest,

In every meadow nook;

And asters by the brook-side

Make asters in the brook.

From dewey lanes at morning

The grapes' sweet odors rise;

At noon the roads all flutter

With yellow butterflies.

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer's best of weather,

And autumn's best of cheer.

But none of all this beauty

Which floods the earth and air

Is unto me the secret

Which makes September fair.

'T is a thing which I remember;

To name it thrills me yet:

One day of one September

I never can forget.

summer is quickly fading. muggy nights give away to cool breezes, requiring blankets, snuggling and turning OFF the fans. there's a feeling in the air that soon we will be stocking the wood stove with wood and creating our first fire of the season. leaves are starting to turn and fall from the trees. crickets, cicadas and katydids are winding down with their seasonal songs. 

nature/gardening:

~observe golden rod and harvest for winter use

~pay attention to seeds that are forming everywhere

~apple time!

~days are getting shorter

~national honey month / extract last round of honey from hives

~cool misty mornings, hot afternoons

~gather cottonwood buds

~full harvest moon (26)

~dress nature table in fall colors and found items

homestead:

~clearing out weeds on north side of house and sowing black eyed susan seed heads

~begin fall/winter garden

~clear out weeds in herb garden

~prepare garlic bed

holidays/tradition:

~Autumn Equinox September 23

food:

~apples, apples, apples

~winter squash

~elderberry wine

~elderberry jelly

home:

~purge boxes of items/clothing to be taken to goodwill for donation

~clean out bulk bins in basement

~clean woodstove and prepare for winter

~start gift item list

stories/books:

~handbook of nature study

~the magic school bus inside a beehive

~apple farmer annie

field trips and homeschool activities:

~start up earth scouts group

~back to weekly playdays

~farmer's markets give way to festivals

crafts/activities:

~3-4 washcloths knitted for solstice gifts

~watercolors

~nature journalling

~apple prints