Feel how hot it is now since the monsoons have subsided?
Do you notice how it is a different heat than in June, the height of the summer?
We are coming off the peak of summer and now in early August, we are transitioning into fall.
The sun and the rain this summer have fostered the growth of my garden produce. The runners from my strawberries are putting down roots, and the original plants are in another cycle of blooming and berries ripening.
And the figs! The tree that I started from a graft has grown and this year has set a lot of round fruits that promise to be figs! This is a dream that I had the first year I moved into my new house seven years ago, and it is literally coming to fruition.
I am harvesting beets, carrots, green onions, and lots of basil. Surprisingly, the pumpkins are already orange and the vines are drying up. I pick the mint which has proliferated since the monsoons and make tea.
Even though I have been picking and eating from my garden since spring, I notice now that I am reaping what I have sown. This is the fullness of the first harvest.
In the cycle of seasons, August 2nd marks the first harvest of fall. It is time to gather the fruit of the fields such as grains. The second harvest comes at the height of fall, the autumn equinox in September. Finally, at the end of October, Halloween marks the final harvest before frost ruins the crops.
Even though I still feel the heat of the summer, I notice that the light of the sun is beginning to wane. I feel the change as I notice the active growth of summer slow down. This foreshadows the dark days of winter dedicated to inner reflection.
I still get up pre-dawn to walk my dog, and I notice that dawn is getting later and later.
Join me in making an effort one day soon to get up while it is still dark before dawn and find an unobstructed view to the east. You may see something there that you recognize. It is the constellation Orion the Hunter, distinctive for the three stars in Orion’s belt. This signature constellation arcs through the night sky in winter.
Now, in early August, Orion is just appearing again from behind the sun. Because it marks the waning of summer, Orion has been called the ghost of the shimmering summer dawn. Its appearance in the pre-dawn sky marks the change of seasons, with fall and winter is on its way.
If we get up a bit earlier, when it is still dark, soon we can see the annual Perseid meteor showers. I have promised myself to do that next week as the moon does not interfere, and the meteor shower should be at its peak.
In the meantime, in the warm sun, we can celebrate the first harvest. Within this gathering of produce is the seed of all future harvests. I have gathered basil seeds, radish seeds, and flower seeds from plants which have matured to that stage. I will store them over the winter and plant again next year when it is time.
Also, consider that this is the first harvest of grain. Beside nourishment to sustain us now and in winter, grain is also the seed to plant in the next cycle in the spring. Because of this, grain represents both fulfillment and future potential.
This affirmation of life shows that in cutting down the grain stalks as the growth cycle ends, we can find a kernel of new life in the grain seed itself. Fullness will come again in its time when that seed is planted.
Now, in early August, when we can still taste the fullness of the summer, let us notice that active growth is slowing down. Now we can reap what we have sown.
Let’s appreciate what is here and give thanks for the first rewards. Going inward, we can notice what we have reaped from our actions, both life supporting and otherwise.
Then we can build on the knowledge that in gathering the first harvest, we hold the seed for the next cycle. We have a choice what we are to plant next – life supporting or not.
What have you sown that you are reaping now?
What are the kernels for the next cycle? What will you sow?
Reflect and appreciate where you are in this cycle.
