Hello, and welcome to The Hummingbird Nest. I'm Kathy Barlow, your hostess, writing from near the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, where the larches have turned the high slopes gold and the mornings have a bite to them. The Hummingbird Nest is a virtual retreat center for women in midlife, and everything I make here comes back to what I value most: calm, creativity, and connection. Over the past 35 years, I've gathered women in kitchens and by the seaside, in the middle of the forest, and in cafés almost too relaxing to leave. Now we gather in a barn I call my virtual home. So pull up a chair, because October is here, and I'd love to tell you what we'll be gathering around this month.
ON THIS MONTH’S THEME:
A Season of Gathering
Every October, the signs start showing up before I’ve quite noticed the calendar has turned. These are the four that tell me gathering season has arrived.
Leaves on the ground
Leaves are falling and being raked into large piles. Some will be bagged and taken away. Others will be spread over flower beds, giving insects a place to shelter and, as they break down, enriching the soil below.
Gardens put to bed
Gardens are being put to bed, offering up a cornucopia of vegetables to store for winter and sometimes share with friends. I was lucky to be gifted zucchini and beets from a friend's garden. I made pickled beets and shredded the zucchini to freeze for frittatas, soups, and muffins over the winter months.
Combines in the fields
A friend recently shared a photo of farmers coming together to help one another with the harvest, and it struck me how beautiful that tradition is. When there is work to be done, people gather. They bring their hands, their time, their stories and their willingness to help.
Apples on Salt Spring Island
This past weekend, I went to an apple festival on Salt Spring Island, just off the coast of Vancouver Island. There were 500 varieties of apples on display (yes, you read that right!), and they were celebrated with tours of the local farms that grew them.
All around us, people are gathering, sometimes to work, sometimes to celebrate, and often a little of both. And when the work is finished, there’s time to celebrate.
That’s the feeling I want to bring to The Hummingbird Nest this month. The building work is done, the doors are open, and on October 17th we’re gathering for a barn warming.
Before I go, I'd love to hear from you. What tells you gathering season has arrived where you live? Leave a comment, and I'll share a few of your answers at the barn warming.
Warmly,
Kathy
A little about me
Hi, I’m Kathy. A guide, a gatherer, a maker of sacred space, and a woman who found her way home to herself after years of putting everyone else first.
For years, I wore many hats at once. Single parent, community manager in a role I was promoted into before I believed I deserved it, event organizer. And later, a family caregiver. Learning all over again how to give without losing yourself in the giving. Caring for everyone, in every direction, all at the same time. What I had to learn, slowly and imperfectly, was that I mattered too. What I found on the other side of that, through stillness, creativity, and the women who gathered around my table, became everything I now offer.
There’s a place at the table with your name on it.
I’m excited to share a glimpse of The Hummingbird Nest. Here’s a snapshot of the home page. Come on in for a visit.
So many beautiful reflections here about the coming of Autumn.
In California, you see the hint of the season arriving by the few trees that shed their summer leaves, the mountains begin to reflect that Autumn gold and brown. In the evening, the air is cooler with a brighter feeling in the breeze. 🍂🍁