Welcome September, labels
I take a hot cuppa out to the garden to soothe myself in the September morning sun; it’s a risky game, the children will more than likely not be ready for school on time and we will rush out of the house in a shouty, chaotic hurry. Never mind.
I savour these few minutes of calm; the mountain is completely drenched in golden sunlight, it’s easy to spot the little blobs of white sheep dotted in the steep green fields. I take a seat amongst the untamed wildness of the garden; so many of the summer ‘jobs’ left undone, the Ragwort and unwelcome Bracken bullishly encroaching, the fennel and mint out of control. A couple of robins are singing their hearts out in the willow with their watery warble, the starling are chattering and babbling, every so often mimicking a buzzard so convincingly I search for it in the sky. The housemartins have started lining up on the wire and I know they’re thinking about leaving soon.
September can still give us those beautiful golden evenings, summer’s last hurrah but it feels like the start of a new year for me, an invitation to slow down and to retreat it’s powerfully persuasive. I think about setting some intentions and letting go of unwanted energies on the equinox. Of course I’d take a couple more warm days if she’d offer them as the broad beans still aren’t fully grown and the sunflowers aren’t in bloom. But I can’t control mother nature, she has it in hand, instead I turn my attention indoors, clear out my wardrobe, deep clean the kitchen and paint the living room. I’m readying myself for hibernation, allured by the prospect of starry dark nights and cosy warm fires. And more time, though I’m always chasing that.
Nourishment is the key. I soak some beautiful naked barley for tomorrow and flick through a few cookery books for some inspiration for my polytunnel green beans and courgettes. My favourite food is always fairly simple, I like to be able to recognise and appreciate the delicious things on my plate, with minimal processing. I know when I’ve indulged, I don’t get hung up on fats or salt, I don’t feel guilty. But it means being informed about food and your own body, scrutinising, balancing, learning.
A few weeks ago at gorgeous Castle Ward we were having a walk, it was a hot afternoon so I grabbed the local brand vanilla ice cream for the kids. After a mouthful they handed it back saying they didn’t like it. I was fairly surprised at them giving up so quickly on the sugar but when I ate a spoonful myself whilst reading the ingredients I didn’t blame them. Not only was there no vanilla in it, there was also no cream or fresh milk. Instead it contained oil, glucose syrup, whey powder, emulsifier, stabilisers, flavouring and even colour. How bizarre, how sad to turn something so delicious, something that I perceive as a lovely treat into a non-descript ultra processed product; not real food.
How often do you read the label? How much do we understand from labels and how does it inform our choices? In an ideal world we would be eating fresh food all the time, with very little processing. Unfortunately we have come so far (globalisation, capitalism, greed!) it’s going to take a while to phase out the things we are used to, or those things which we perceive as normal ‘food.’ Ultra processed food is not nourishing us and it really shouldn’t make up a large percentage of our diets. Going into this new season we need comforting nutritious food.
My opinion is that we are clever, we are intelligent enough to read an ingredient list and make our choice, we can see what vegetables are in season, or how far the fruit has travelled, we can judge whether organic is better, less plastic and packaging, if our meat and dairy is of high ethical standard. Labels can be helpful.
Some things are too complicated to label…
I don’t like to dwell on how I might be labelled but I’m happy with non conformist or eccentric maybe. Aside from food I nourish myself with long walks, sea swims, cycling, yoga, reading, therapy and reflexology. Label me as your friend or companion, I’m happy to be here with you, forging this soil to soul attitude, learning together and exploring this wonderful world.
Happy Autumn to you xxx
Your kiddos clearly have very refined and smart palettes to be able to realise they were eating random crap!! I label you as the best leader ever x
Gorgeous post Ciara. Happy autumn to you, too!