The Autumnal equinox - Summer's End

The changing of the seasons is always a time of contemplation and seasonal activities of preparation for the winter months, and of course, celebrations around a Bonfire!  Here at Raven Hill Botanicals, this means the last of the Fall foraging, garden harvesting, and hiking our favorite mountain trails.  I find it hard to believe we are already lighting our hearth fires in the evenings.  The birds are gathering to take their journey to their Winter habitat. We are harvesting the last of the summer herbs and flowers for our formulas, taking our last walks in the shimmering summer light. The September Autumnal Equinox in Montana is on Monday, September 22, 2025, at 12:19 PM Mountain Time, which marks the official start of astronomical fall and ushers in a change of season ever closer cold and snowy Montana Winter. It is observed annually when the sun can be seen directly overhead along the equator. The day marks the end of summer and beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Autumn Fires
In the other gardens
   And all up in the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
   See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over, 
   And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
   The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
   Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
   Fires in the fall! 
​Robert Louis Stevenson
​

Gatherings of Past Times at Raven Hill Botanicals