Tomorrow we are carrying on our Autumn Equinox tradition of going out to Beck’s Harvest House in Greenbluff to pick apples. Initially we were going to go today but with high winds and a 40% of rain in forecast we postpone for tomorrow, banking on the weatherman’s promise of a perfect Autumn day.
Some of you might remember that I purchased an Autumn-themed board book for Damian as a Lughnasadh gift. I am really happy to report that he loves it, the pictures are so vivid and detailed that they completely captivate him. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about purchasing a similar gift with one word of caution, there are no words in it, only paintings. I personally prefer that as I can make up a different tale each time we go through it, but I realize that that is not for everyone.
Building on the idea of gifting him with something seasonal for each sabbat I recently purchased him Autumn Equinox gift, which I wanted to reflect our yearly trip to the orchards. I found lots of beautiful ideas but ultimately Michael helped me chose a Holztiger wooden apple tree (which I think is exceptionally well crafted.) Though Autumn Equinox will not technically arrive until Tuesday, we gave it to him today as we will be apple picking tomorrow.
I know that most children only associate Christmas or their birthday with special traditions and/or presents but since our family celebrates the Wheel of the Year I like the idea of doing something special with my children at the beginning and height of each of the seasons (what we refer to as sabbats of which we have eight.) I do not intend for each sabbat to be heralded with a gift, ultimately I would love it to become more of some kind of craft where we can talk about the meaning of the sabbat while we create something special together as well as our traditional activities (such as apple picking.) However that idea will largely depend on Damian being able to say more then 20 words and no longer attempting to eat craft supplies! So a board book or a small gift is the most developmentally appropriate at the moment.
Holztiger toys are geared more towards imaginary play which Damian is still a little young for, however I have no doubt he will grow into that phase (as it is natural.) For now though, he is more then pleased with his new toy even if his current use of it is running around the house waving it around like a club and occasionally stopping beside me to show me one of the bright red apples painted on it. Last year he was only 3 1/2 months old for the Harvest Festival and slept through most of it but I am sure that will not be the case with him this year. I can’t wait to see what he thinks of the big red apples hanging off the trees!