It's Pumpkin Time

Pumpkin Time of Year

It's that time of year: Pumpkin Time! Whether you grew them in the garden or bought them at a store or farmers' market, the pumpkins have been harvested and are ready to be carved into jack o'lanterns or painted: a fairly new trend involves painting a pumpkin teal blue to indicate that trick-or-treating children who have food allergies can get a non-food treat--a toy or something similar--and not feel left out of the festivities.

Pumpkins can also be made into many delectable dishes--pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pies, and other goodies. And, of course, you see pumpkin spice everything around this time of year.

Pumpkin time is the heart of autumn, when the weather is becoming cooler, there's a nip in the air, and the hearth beckons the family ever closer. It is a time for turning inward and nurturing the self and loved ones. It's a precious time, not to be wasted.

"Pumpkins Hancock Shaker village 2418". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pumpkins_Hancock_Shaker_village_2418.jpg#/media/File:Pumpkins_Hancock_Shaker_village_2418.jpg

Check out the Autumn Abundance Sale going on at Sol Luna Enterprises: enjoy 25% off on orders of $25 and over. The coupon code is FALLSAVINGS. This sale lasts through October 31, 2015, so don’t miss out!

One gift idea, just in time for the holidays: a membership to the Shining Biz + Life Academy, chock full of personal and business e-courses, videos, and meditations for just $497 a year for the complete package or for $197 a year for the Life Academy package (for those who don't have a business and are not interested in pursuing this route). This is a fantastic gift idea for a loved one, or even for yourself. Check out this opportunity today. Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for the Shining Biz + Life Academy and all of its services. I use.recommend, and heartily endorse this program.

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Gardening and Grief

Gardening and Working through the Grieving Process

My father died May 1, 2015. He hadn't planned to do so, of course. Ever since then, I have been working through the five-stage grieving process--or seven-stage, depending on which model you choose to observe.

While I've been tending the container garden area, the main garden lies almost dormant this summer -- except for the asparagus plants and what I affectionately call "mystery squash": various squash seeds were started, and I failed to label them.

While I have been mourning my father, the main garden, sadly, has suffered from neglect: the weeds have taken over, the soil has not been enriched lately, and I've not planted anything new. Yes, El Niño has certainly played a role, with the torrential downpours that have occurred until recently, but still: grief has invaded the main garden.

By Angelsharum (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

As I move into the acceptance phase of grieving, it is time to reclaim the garden.

In the cool of the morning or in the evening, accompanied by the cool, reassuring presence of Spirit, it is time to pull weeds. Yes, Ralph Waldo Emerson did say the following about weeds: "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Be that as it may, as I cast away weeds, I cast away regrets, the "might-have-beens," to be left with the good, loving memories of my father.

It is time to feed the soil, to nourish it, for fulfilling the promise of a vibrant, vital autumn garden: a second harvest and a second chance.

It is time to begin today.

By tending the garden, I tend my soul as well as my father's legacy: the lessons of love I have learned from him and his contributions towards making the world a better place. In his memory, I till the ground and plant the seeds of a promising tomorrow. Namaste and Blessed Be.