My rain barrels are close to overflowing! They were empty before the rain started last Sunday. The chicken run, the goat yard, the driveway, are all muddy and messy now. But it’s a happy, autumnal mud. Russian folklore would have me give over early September to St. Paraskeva-the-dirty, patron of fertile fields and muddy roads.

The beaver pond was low, almost a stream again before the rain. It’s high up the shoreline again. Hopefully our beavers are still there, settling in for winter, taking down trees for us to burn later.

It’s warm again this week. Summer temperatures, but with that fall scent in the air. People are out buying autumn decorations at the stores – but I don’t need them! I have two eager kids collecting red and gold (sometimes brown and crumbly) leaves, little stones, ferns, and pretty sticks for me to place on the altar; picking goldenrod and tansy for the table, and filling the house with baskets of woodland beauty.

I also have blackberries scattered all over the land. Enough to add to pancakes, muffins, quick-breads, and sauce-less pizzas. And, if you’ve never made grilled cheese with blackberries, basil, and fresh mozzarella..well, you need to come see me before the berries are gone!