Today is the Autumnal Equinox, which will take place at 11:09 pm (EDT). Time for those Equinoctial Storms.
Those who have read the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder may remember in "The Long Winter" that Ma Ingalls placidly refers to the three days of steady rain as an equinoctial storm.
According to The Old Farmers Almanac, today is Harvest Home, a festival which marks the conclusion of the harvest, in which thanks is rendered unto God for a good harvest, and the workers are paid and feasted.
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of Harvest Home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of Harvest Home.
Yes, Thanksgiving in the U.S. is still two months ahead (not that you would know it by the decorations in the stores), but now is the time to give thanks for a good harvest, while you continue canning the proceeds from your garden or the treasures from the farmer's markets. If thanking God for our sustenance is beyond you, at least express your appreciation to your local farmers and growers for their efforts. And if thanking God for our sustenance is not beyond you, remember to offer up a prayer for our local farmers and growers, in gratitude for their expertise and hope that their efforts may again be crowned with success.
No, I'm not bitter. I just envision the fate of the narrator visited on the latest owners of a McMansion in the country, who race down my street and demand closer places to shop (it's a whole two miles into town). Not bitter at all.
