Happy September everyone! If you’re a normal person, this means it is officially fall and time for the spooky season to begin (if you’re a calendar, sorry you still have 21 days left before you can celebrate.) Although September is the ninth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendar, it actually comes from the Latin Septem, meaning “seven”, from the really old Roman calendar (March being the first month of the year). We all know September as the month of the equinox (Autumn for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Vernal for those who live in the Southern Hemisphere) in which the day and night are of equal lengths; after that, the nights will get longer as we head into the cold, Winter months.

I personally love fall and while I don’t love the frigid cold of winter, I do love being able to walk outside to go check the mail without sweating like I’ve just run a marathon. I mean, sure spring is nice, you have the flowers beginning to bloom and there is something magical about the world waking up after being covered in snow (if you’re lucky to see snow), but there is beauty in watching the trees change colors and everyone slowing down from the frenetic energy of summer.

Unpopular opinion, but I do not like the taste of pumpkin (sorry Starbucks lovers, but I will not rejoice in the PSL returning). While I enjoy the look of pumpkins (as a whole and as a scary face), I enjoy the taste of other squashes (new post idea, all the wonderful squash varieties!) Although, some could argue that when people are eating pumpkin things, it’s really all about the spices that are added to the pumpkin that people go gaga over. Have you ever looked at what pumpkin spice is made of? It’s really quite simple to make. Here are the main ingredients: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger (sometimes people will also add allspice – which is not a bunch of spices mixed together, but actually a dried berry from the Pimenta dioica plant; who knew.) These are what create that nice warm and spicy feeling in your mouth when you drink a PSL or eat a slice of pumpkin pie. Now when it comes to ratios of everything, it really depends on your preference. Some individuals do a 1:1 ratio of everything, some do 2:1:1:1 with cinnamon being the main component of their spice blend, and some even do a 4:2:1:1 of cinnamon:ginger:nutmeg:cloves. The best thing to do is to take the time to make a blend to your taste preference (and write down the measurements so you can make it again when you run out!)

Well, I want to thank you for stopping by and I hope you learned a thing or two. I want you to treat September as a month to look forward to and enjoy and less like Green Day’s song, Wake Me Up When September Ends. Take the time to think about your Halloween costume if you haven’t already (60 days until it’s time for our day of haunting), learn something new in honor of the kids who have started back to school, and watch out for the falling leaves that are sure to start piling up in yards soon.

“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures…”

— Henry David Thoreau