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autumn

The Autumn Equinox: The Dark Season

September 21, 2017 By Donna Henes Filed Under: Park Slope Life Tagged With: autumn, Fall Equinox

Fall is when we reap what we have sown

Autumn is inexorably associated with ripe maturity, harvest and death, as well as the implicit understanding of an eventual rebirth, the offer of resurrection.

The autumn ushers in the dark season. The season of diminished light. From now until the Vernal Equinox, six months hence, the nights are longer than the days. Shade and chill prevail. The year, the season, the sun, are slowing down, growing cold, getting old. The insidious forces of death sweep in and overshadow the vibrant life source.

[pullquote]Just as the dying sun is sure to return, so, too, will the seeds buried deep in the dark, begin to sprout come springtime. This potent promise of prospective plenitude sustains us through the empty stomach months.[/pullquote]The air and land, once alive with teeming species, are becoming empty in fall, and mute. Birds leave. Insects nest. Burrowing animals hunker. The trees discard their once green mantles, shrugging off leaves aglow with the fiery patina of age and sun. Stripped, they emerge skinny and naked, shivering in the wind. The flowering and fruitful plants shrivel and wither and prepare to die with the coming cold. Final fruits, nuts, ripe grains and grasses are gathered in before the fatal first frost.

Fall is like being retirement age. Having weathered the cycles, the rainbows and the storms, the trials and the troubles, the struggles; the teachings of a full life, it is now the season to reap what you have sown. If you planted your seeds in the spring and tended them well — watered and weeded, pruned and staked, mulched and sprayed, propitiated and prayed; and if the weather was willing — enough, but not too much, sun, wind and rain; and if you were lucky — favored by the powers that be in the universe; come autumn it is prime time to harvest your crop.

You have lived responsibly, raised your family. You have followed your calling, perfected your craft, participated in community. You have done your job, played your part. You have paid your dues — not to mention your payments, your taxes. You have worked your ass off. You are ready for a rest. You earned it. You yearn for the freedom and leisure that follows hard work well done. This is the future you have been saving for. In fall, you cash in and collect the fruits of your love and long labor.

Autumn age provides the perspective of the telescope of time. Here is the potential to ripen to a healthy, golden perfection before the stalk of life is scythed. To propagate the plentiful seeds of genes, of experience, of heritage, of the accumulated wisdom of the generations grown patiently over time. These are the seeds of survival. This is true for plants, too. In the fall of their lives when they are past their prime, as their last productive act and in a grand finale flurry of display, they go to seed. They issue forth from themselves the fertile means to assure a continuous succession.

The parent plant scatters these precious seeds to the four directions. They send them out on the winds and over the waters. They arrange for them to be delivered in the fur of animal couriers and dispersed from the air by birds and bats. They are given over to the grain harvesters of many species. It is imperative that these wild and domestic seeds find their way back into the earth womb to germinate and grow again. This accomplished, their lives complete, their genetic deed done, they die. Their decomposing leaves and stalks serve to cover the embryonic seed asleep in the cold ground. Even in death, they serve to nourish new life.

Autumn, then, is inexorably associated with ripe maturity, harvest and death, as well as the implicit understanding of an eventual rebirth, the offer of resurrection. Just as the dying sun is sure to return, so, too, will the seeds buried deep in the dark, begin to sprout come springtime. This potent promise of prospective plenitude sustains us through the empty stomach months.

 

 

Donna Henes is an urban shaman in exotic Brooklyn, contemporary ceremonialist, award winning author and popular speaker. Visit her website at

 http://www.donnahenes.net. Email her at cityshaman@aol.com.

© copyright 2006 by Donna Henes

— — —

ReligionAndSpirituality.com is a big tent for all expressions of faith and spirituality, neither excluding nor favoring any.

All opinions expressed belong to the writer alone, and are  not necessarily shared by ReligionAndSpirituality.com.

Filed Under: Park Slope Life Tagged With: autumn, Fall Equinox

Autumn = Cider (And Wine, of Course!)

November 30, 2015 By John Tucker Filed Under: Eat Local Tagged With: autumn, cider, fall, rosewater, wine

One of the joys of owning a seasonal restaurant is the pleasure we get from shaping the drinks list to reflect the contents of the Chef’s market basket as it changes through the year—it never gets old! With autumn now in full swing, let’s consider a few delicious wine and cider bottles that can be everyday pairings with the greenmarket foods of autumn and early winter, and be great for the holiday table, too.

 

At Rose Water, summer’s icy plum ginger agua fresca is just a memory, and we’re now warming our hands around a cup of hot, spiced apple cider.

Around the time that the first local apples of the season appeared, the pink wines started to retire from the wine list, and by the time the hard squashes arrived, the number of white wines started to thin from summer’s peak. The selections have moved a wee bit to the weightier side. We’ve expanded the array of natural red wines from Europe, South America, and the U.S. to pair with sturdy bitter greens, root vegetables, and the roasted game and braised beef that came in with the chillier weather. And the artisanal ciders, both apple and pear, flat and fizzy, have resumed their seasonal berth on the list.

We have a longstanding tradition of pairing cider with our tasting menus at the first real chill of fall. In recent years, every autumn we learn of a couple new and exciting producers of artisanal cider, many from New York, and we list at least half a dozen or more, both from the northeastern U.S. as well as France and Spain. The best ciders are great with food. They just feel like the most perfect drink for autumn, and in the same way that summer without rosé is unimaginable for us, autumn equals cider. If you haven’t discovered the pleasures of a good cider yet, do yourself a solid and beat a path to your local natural wine store. They’ll have several selections, at a minimum, and can guide you through them; from light to heavy, squeaky clean to funky and unfiltered, and from austerely dry to candy sweet. Like wine, they range across a large spectrum of characteristics. And, like wine, they can range from to cheap to expensive (though the most complex ciders are still cheaper than fine wine).

One of our alltime faves, year in and out, is Eric Bordelet’s Poiré Authentique from Normandy. Bordelet produces pear and apple ciders of extraordinary quality, complexity, and value. At about 4 percent alcohol, they are wonderful as an aperitif when cooking Thanksgiving dinner. At home, we sip the Poiré Authentique instead of wine or beer because it’s dry and light on it’s feet, with soft, happy bubbles—and the low alcohol keeps us awake and on task in the kitchen. Eric Bordelet works with more than twenty varieties of organic/biodynamic cider apples and fourteen types of pears, chosen to provide not just sweet flavors, but bitter and sour as well. The fruits that we all use for baking and eating out of hand generally don’t make the best cider. The heirloom varietals that Eric and other great producers use are often inedible, but when blended in cider they make for a complex and beguiling drink. We love all the Bordelet apple and pear ciders, but the Poiré Authentique is a favorite for it’s incredible pear perfume, hint of sweetness, bracing minerality, and freshness. It’s on the list at RW from autumn to late winter, often by the glass and as a pairing with our Market Menu and Chef’s Tasting Menu. Bordelet makes more expensive bottlings, but the Authentique is a great value, and a wonderful entry to cider for those beginning to explore them. You can find it at Slope Cellars here in Park Slope. ($17.99, www.slopecellars.com)

Over the last handful of vintages we’ve come to love the Dashe Cellars “Les Enfants Terribles” Zinfandels from Northern California. Mike Dashe makes a number of different Zinfandels, but for the two Enfants Terribles (Wild Children) bottlings he sources grapes from two organic farms in Mendocino: Heart Arrow Ranch and the high-elevation McFadden Farm. Mike makes the Enfants wines in the natural style, with wild yeast fermentations, aged in used, large oak barrels, and he adds very little sulphur. Be forewarned: These are not your dad’s overblown, high alcohol, impossible-to-pair-with-food Zinfandels. They’re much more restrained, with alcohol levels usually under 14 percent, and they pair just beautifully with food. The new vintage is usually released in early fall, and we love to serve them through the colder months and with the main course for Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant. With spicy, fresh fruit and just enough backbone and zingy acidity, they complement roasted bird and all of the classic dishes of autumn and the holiday table. Because European wines are frequently more restrained and therefore often better with food, we frequently go with French or Italian when choosing wine for a meal. But especially on the most American of holidays, Thanksgiving, we like to serve an American wine, and the Dashe Enfants Zins are light and restrained enough to not overwhelm dinner—just fruity enough to please those that like a more modern style. The Heart Arrow has slightly more pronounced fruit and the McFadden is a little less ripe due to the higher elevation of the vineyard where the air is cooler. Also available at Slope Cellars (around $27, www.slopecellars.com )

We wish you a happy autumn season with bountiful family meals, good food, and delicious cider and wine!

Filed Under: Eat Local Tagged With: autumn, cider, fall, rosewater, wine

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