Instead, I've decided that rambling on about my plans for Lùnastal is a far better option right now, because rambling I can do, in abundance. In fact, I shall blether, because blethering is what I do best. It says so on my fridge, so it must be true:
See?
But even though it's technically the right day, things aren't ready yet in the garden. I'm waiting for the blueberries to ripen, so I have something to pick and show for it this time, and maybe in a few weeks time there'll be some blackberries too. As it is, we'll probably need some sunshine for anything to hurry itself along, so I'm aiming to celebrate around the Old Style date.
Since I've been doing murals for the kitchen these past few years, with the kids, I'm attempting to think of something to do there. Last year we did a collage of autumn leaves that the kids painted, decorated and glued into place with me just helping to cut them out:
But this year I'm trying to branch out from foliage. I'm kind of failing miserably, because all I can think of is a tree having its leaves blown off in the inevitable autumnal gales that are to follow this season, if the previous years are anything to go by. And aside from letting the kids glue things down, I'm not really sure what I can do that allows them to participate more, that retains the desired theme, as it were. It's kind of pointless otherwise. Hopefully inspiration will follow. I'm trying to think of something first fruits-ish.
Otherwise, we'll be doing the now usual; games, feasting, offerings, and so on. I'm toying with the idea of making some sort of corn dolly, but I'd rather do that using whatever I harvest from the garden around this time, and nothing seems to be presenting itself as handy. I'm not averse to procuring the materials by other means, but I'd rather have the medium be more relevant to what I've been doing in my garden already, if that makes sense. Plus, I have to actually figure out how to make it...
Butter, cheese, bannocks and butter brughtins will (likely) be made, and I intend to freeze the remainder of the carrot and coriander soup I made from my first carrot harvest so I can have some for the day as well - I'm going in the wrong order there, really, since they're more for the autumn equinox, but ah well. I'm hoping the second batch will be ready for that. Chances are slim, though, I think, they'll more likely be ready for Samhainn. My raspberries haven't done too well this year, in the end, but hopefully with the blueberries at the least, I'll be able to make some cranachan.
For the butter brughtins (Gàidhlig, brochan - porridge or gruel), it seems to be a sort of stodgy pottage, consisting of oatcakes crumbled and then cooked in liberal amounts of butter. McNeill records this as a traditional Lammas dish for shephards, similar to skirlie, which is a sort of stuffing made of oatmeal and onion fried in suet to a good stodge.
Aside from the usual - saining, charms, devotions and a walk to the promontory overlooking the Clyde where I left offerings the previous years I've been here, that's about it for now.
