Late Summer, Pick Your Own Produce and the Autumn Equinox

For me late August is a chance to pause before the busyness of the autumn and an opportunity to enjoy the last of the summer weather, sunrise and sunset dog walks, summer recipes and time pottering in the garden.

I also love trips to my local (PYO) 'Pick Your Own' farm for fruit and flowers. As a child we used to head out to farms in Worcestershire and Shropshire and come home with boxes of strawberries, raspberries, loganberries and gooseberries which would be turned into pies and crumbles and stored in the freezer for autumn deserts. I'm sure I ate as much as I picked as I remember hands sticky and stained with berry juice.

Over the last few years our local Pick Your Own farm has been Peterley Manor Farm which offers Christmas trees in the winter, sunflowers in late August and a pumpkin patch in the autumn along side the variety of fruit through the summer. My hands still get stained with juice but I now try to resist eating what I've picked until its been weighed! Just as my mother and grandmothers did, I prepare pies and crumbles for the freezer and the autumn months.

This year the Autumn Equinox occurs on Sunday 22nd September. In the Northern Hemisphere it marks the end of summer and the beginning of astronomical autumn and the Pagan festival of Mabon. We can also define autumn through phenology and meteorology. Phenology uses ecological and biological signs such as leaves changing colour and birds migrating to indicate the changing seasons, while meteorology uses three equal months per season and autumn begins on the 1st September.

The Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest the equinox, occurs on the 17th September 2024 and historically, the illumination of the full moon gave farmers extra hours to bring the harvest in. Once the harvest was brought home, a harvest supper was prepared to share with family and neighbours to celebrate and give thanks. Harvest suppers and festivals continue up and down the UK today and are held throughout September and October and this is perhaps the closest celebration we have to Thanksgiving.

Summer Shows and The Churchill Fellowship Award Ceremony

In the UK there is a long history of holding agricultural and county shows with over 400 shows on offer each year. These shows are culturally important to rural communities, giving people a opportunity to get together, enjoy the day and perhaps, show their best livestock, flowers, vegetables, crafting and baking skills or technical skills such as ploughing or thatching. It also gives those from more urban communities a chance to reconnect to countryside, food, farming and rural life.

The last Thursday in August is reserved, on my calendar, every year for the Bucks County Show, which prides itself in being one of the best 1 day agricultural shows in the country. We arrive early, just after 8am, to make the most of the day and head for one of the food vendors to buy a cuppa, which we take with us as we explore the stalls and attractions. We look forward to the routine of the day, reconnecting with familiar faces and a dish of strawberries and melted chocolate for mid morning energy boost! We marvel at the size of the home grown flowers and vegetables and sample artisan produce in the food hall. At the end of the day we head home, pleasantly tired, looking forward to the next shows or food festivals in the calendar.

Late August and early September have been especially busy this year and on the 3rd September 2024 I attended the Churchill Fellowship Award Ceremony in London. I was one of 122 Fellows who were presented with medallions in recognition of our completed research projects. Mine related to my care farming research in 2021. The Chair of the Churchill Fellowship Jeremy Soames spoke of this not being the ending of our Fellowships but rather the beginning of new chapters, as we take what we have learnt and use it in our communities. The Churchill Fellowship is currently open for applications for 2025 fellowships.