Mabon Slow Living Tips

Plus 'Slow Seasons' is out in less than three weeks! 🍂

My book, Slow Seasons: A Creative Guide to Reconnecting with Nature the Celtic Way, will be published by Bloomsbury next month on October 12th!

It’s available to preorder from these places here.

A huge thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered - as a result of your support ‘Slow Season’s is already a number one best-seller on Amazon as well as one of their top new releases! I know it’s Amazon, and those who have been following a while know I’m a massive supporter of independents, especially bookshops. But the ripple effect this will have on the reach of the book, meaning it can help even more people, is just brilliant. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️

Slow Seasons is filled with seasonal crafts, recipes, nature notes and celebrations inspired by my Scottish heritage. It follows the progress of the year through each mini season, from Imbolc at the start of the year to Yule at the end and is beautifully illustrated by Holly Ovenden throughout. You can read more about it in this post.

Now, onto the newsletter! Each month, on the last Sunday of the month, I share the ways I’m celebrating the season we’re in. This month I’ll also be sharing some fun things in the book along the way! Here in Edinburgh, change is in the air: after the unseasonably hot weather we started on torrential rain and now cold that signals Autumn is most definitely here. Yesterday was Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, a time where day and night are of equal length. In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals. Here are a few things I’ll be doing throughout this six week period between Mabon and Samhain, the start of Celtic Winter, to celebrate the season we’re in.

September Foraging

This time around Mabon is an ideal time for foraging, with so much wild food ripe and ready for the picking. Make an afternoon of it: pack a picnic with a flask and slice of something sweet for foraging fuel, then fill a basket with your finds. Forage responsibly: leave enough for the wildlife and other foragers and take only a little fruit from each area. Look out for blackberries, elderberries, rosehips and sloes then spend time preserving them in the kitchen. There’s a recipe for a delicious (and nutritious!) elderberry syrup and a perfectly seasonal hedgerow jelly in my book that can be adapted to whatever you find. When you reach for the jars of jelly in the depths of Winter they will transport you back to those early Autumn days.

Nesting

It’s officially the time of year for blankets, throws and candles and I, for one, am delighted by the prospect of cosy season. I know that not everyone is though, and I appreciate the darkening days can take their toll. This was part of my rationale for writing my book and making this community here - to create a supportive environment to share our ideas for slowing down and living seasonally at this darkest time of year when it can be hardest. Making home a cosy, safe space to retreat to can help you to embrace rather than resist the dark. Take this as your official permission slip to buy that candle, to finish making that throw, to get the fairy lights out of the Christmas box early. Whatever you do, embrace all things cosy.

Crafternoon

Autumn officially marks the start of my favourite crafting season - although of course I indulge all year round, there’s something special about a cosy afternoon crafting at home when the weather is dreich outdoors. By far my favourite materials to craft with are natural, foraged ones and Autumn provides so many wonderful ingredients to celebrate in crafts: seed heads, dried flowers, leaves, pine cones and conkers. At this time of year you hardly find me without at least one of the aforementioned in my pockets, basket or handbag. I’ll be making my favourite Autumn wreath from the book for my launch next month at Elliott’s Edinburgh and then during my book tour - keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram for details!

Apple Season

The apple is traditional symbol of Mabon and harvest abundance. Community orchards are becoming increasingly common again, even in cities - so it’s worth looking up where there’s one close to you and spending a crisp, early Autumn afternoon apple picking. For Edinburgh locals there’s even one hidden in the grounds of the Astley Ainslie Hospital! If you can’t find an orchard then seek out interesting varieties at your local farmers’ market and make something special with them. There’s a recipe for a delicious apple and star anise cake in the Mabon chapter of my book that I’m really proud of. I might have to make it this week, in fact…

Pumpkin Patch

As we transition from Summer produce into all the Autumn goodness to come, the pumpkin is definitely the star of the show. Pumpkin patches have been popping up all over the country in recent years - and it’s well worth looking up to see if there’s one near you to go and pick your own pumpkins. I’ve been visiting Kilduff Farm in East Lothian since they opened - a gorgeous family run patch that grows traditional as well as culinary pumpkins, and they’ve recently branched out into growing dahlias too. I’m delighted that they have asked me to visit the patch for an event during their pumpkin festival next month - if you live near, I’d love you to join us for the afternoon! Scottish gardening and food writer and broadcaster Helen Cross will be interviewing me and there will be flower crowns and mulled apple juice as well as the opportunity to visit the patch and take some culinary pumpkins home. You can buy tickets here!

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and a wee preview of some highlights of mine from the Mabon chapter of Slow Seasons. You can hear me reading the introduction to the chapter and see a sneak peek flick through over on Instagram too. I’m also sharing monthly snippets behind the scenes over in my paid subscriber community! Speaking of which, here’s what I’ve been posting about there this month:

Damson, Honey and Almond Cakes

A Slow Highland Holiday: Part Two

Behind the Scenes of ‘Slow Seasons’: the Publisher Auction

Mabon In Season Ingredients

And my monthly book group coming up next week to complete the month’s content!

Thank you so much for your support xxx

Pre-order Slow Seasons here.