I feel Autumn in the air, don’t you? The warmth of summer is dissipating and in London it feels like an oven just turned off, warm and a little muggy. The rain is coming and I love to watch it fall on my new apartments single pained windows. It slides down like a slick across the glass. I feel like a fish in a fish bowl watching the elements outside, being so close to it yet protected in my home.
This is the feeling everyone should have during the colder seasons. Safety brought about by the ever-present ‘dangers’ of the weather outside. I feel connected to the seasons more with every year of my wiccan life. I am settling into the seasons with my habits.
This month I am beginning to think about the cold setting in. I am due to insulate my home tomorrow. I’ve already hung the heavy curtains and I am going to add another layer of insulation to my loft. I’m also going to add a curtain to my open plan living room so as to make a closed room which I can heat alone as I spend most of my time in here. This should cut down on my energy consumption/bills significantly. I will also show you how to create a double pane where there is only one using simple techniques.
I have also been enjoying the harvest as it has come early this year. I have shown you recently how to make elderberry syrup but if you don’t fancy making it you can always buy a bottle from me (follow the contact us button to contact me). Get out there and get your berries now people, they have come early this year!
Most berries this time of year are packed with vitamin C which is great for combatting a cold. The black berries (elder, blackberry etc.) have their colour thanks to Anthocyanins which are generally anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, venotonic and improve night vision (Ganora, 2009). Be careful when picking and processing elderberries as although they are great when ripe they can be toxic when they’re not. Avoid the stem, bark and leaf for the same reason. Those parts of the plants toxicity is due to Cyanogenic glycosides (sambunigrin) which are bitter (Ganora, 2009). Rose hip (Rosa canina) is full of vitamin C also, in fact they were encouraged to be picked by the government during the war as we could not import citrus fruits from abroad and these were a good way to avoid scurvy.
After picking and washing my elderberries and blackberries I put them in some rum 
that should warm the cockles of my heart on a cold winters day.
Oh and Alys Fowler has a new book out all about foraging whcih I would highly recommend even though my copy hasn’t arrived yet. Check it out. I’ve enjoyed the rest of her books so far and see no reason why this won’t be great too.
Happy picking 
References
Ganora, L. (2009) Herbal Constituents: Foundations of Phytochemistry. Colorado: Herbalchem press.
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