I love the gleam of jewel-like berries in the hedgerows! On a walk yesterday, I saw these bryony berries and also hawthorn, rose hips, sloes, damsons and late plums.  I also saw hop bines festooning ancient plum trees, their soporific smell bringing back memories of my childhood in Kent. Autumn berries bring out the ‘gatherer’ instinct in me – the urge to make jam and pies and to create sloe gin for Christmas. (Bryony berries are safest being admired for their beauty. Don’t eat them!)

The gathering idea also leads to a full notebook and lots of photographs. Go for a walk. Use the senses. Look at the colours of the leaves, smell the freshness in the air. Taste it. Listen – what do you hear? Write down everything that occurs to you. Find a way to celebrate the equinox with those you love. Create memories, poems and stories.

 

 

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