Summer Waning

Whether outside (above: Portland Head Light)....

or inside (above: our living room)....

We're soaking up the last bits of summer.  We were planning to go to the Civil War Encampment at Willowbrook this coming weekend, but it would appear that my hubby has to work (and my oldest is not as excited about going - so I find myself reluctant to drag us all to go given the long drive involved).

SooOOoooOOoo...I'm on the lookout for something fun to do more locally with the kids this weekend.

We are planning our annual Apple Picking field trip for the last week in September, and so far we have quite a large group ready to go.  When we're done, I'll be making pies, apple sauce, apple pie filling to freeze, and I'm going to try my hand at apple cider vinegar.

Autumn Equinox 2009

In the language of science, an equinox is either of two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. For the rest of us, it's one of two times a year when the Sun crosses the equator, and the day and night are of approximately equal length.

At the autumnal equinox (Sept 22, 2009; 5:18 P.M. EDT), the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, from north to south; this marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

The vernal equinox, also known as “the first point of Aries,” is the point at which the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from south to north. This occurs about March 21, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

On the date of either equinox, the Sun is above the equator and night and day are of approximately equal length; the word equinox is often used to refer to either of these dates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PROJECT for this week: Autumn Wreaths
~~~~~~~~~~~

These wreaths are so much fun to make and hang.  You can just hang them around your property randomly, or you can be more deliberate about them.  They are nice to hang on posts around your outside circle at the 4 cardinal directions, or they can mark special spots in your yard or garden that have special meaning to you and your family.

They can be made by wrapping twigs (soaked in water if needed) around a wreath form (or just wrap them into a circle on your own for a less formal shape.  Let the ends of each twig stick out a few inches as you alternate twigs around the center form.  Then hang ribbons, flowers or whatever colorful items you want (berry limbs work great, especially the non-edible berries that won't get picked at by the birds - just be sure to hang it high enough so young children won't try to eat the berries).

Use these wreaths ceremoniously, or just for fun.  They're a great way to start to change the yard, garden and/or your circle into a more autumn landscape.