Harvest

Harvest

"All among barley,
Who would not be blithe,
While the ripe and bearded barley
Is smiling on the scythe."

______ anon., "The Ripe and Bearded Barley"


    Every year brings the miracle of harvest. The grain has ripened beneath the great golden summer, with the assistance of the sharp, lancing showers of spring, with the help of the germinating chill of winter's icy grasp under the seed hidden within the earth. It is only in autumn that we can begin to enjoy the fruits of the earth.
     The seasonal round is no longer part of our daily life, accustomed as we are to helping ourselves to the good things of the earth at any time of the year. Food preservation methods are now so sophisticated that we can enjoy cherries in December or hazelnuts in March.
    The mysteries of the grain were hallowed by our ancestors, because grain created two stable items of diet: bread and ale. The complex processes of flour refining and fermentation were discovered millennium ago, bringing their own special gladness to everyone's hearth.
    Though the celebration of harvest no longer brings us together in communities to rejoice that the cycle of life can continue into another year, we can still be blithe and and thankful that there is sufficient food for all to share. Every time we eat bread, every time we drink beverages brewed from grain, we also partake in the mysteries of harvest.

"What is your own life-harvest this year? Consider the riches of the year's experiences and ponder how they will fuel the year to come."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]