My thanks for the honor of tending this day (my first!) with offerings, altar-building, and grateful appreciation in all directions. It was a stunning stretch of fall here in southcentral Alaska. I’ll try to put some words around it, and attach a couple of photos for when they fail:

The first hard frost of the year arrived last night under clear, starry skies and the new moon. This morning, the sun crept over the ridge, softening the tiny crystal needles into smoke. All day the wind sent yellow birch and aspen leaves spiraling to earth, leaving the bright blue sky to land among the red rowan berries, faded green meadow grasses, and mud brown mushroom caps. Moose, groaning in rut, rubbed shoulders and shook racks at the forest’s edge. Quorking Ravens circled overhead, crossing the bright white clouds that had gathered over the mountains. At sea level, a neap tide rose and fell. This evening, the sun, sinking again towards the horizon, left the sky stained in cranberry, salmon, rose and lupine. A single spruce grouse picked at the gravel in the evening light, every feather colored in blended earth. Only a red cap glowed among the stones like an ember. The heat of the day fled as the new moon, lean and empty, shadowed the rough shoulders of the mountains.

May the lunar seeds of this time bring blessings to all beings.