Season
The Week Before Pokrov
Bringing in the last of everything before the cold — and an old feast that marks the turn of the year.
On the fourteenth of October, Orthodox Christians celebrate Pokrov — the Feast of the Intercession, the protecting veil of the Mother of God. In the old village calendar it meant something practical too: the end of field work, the start of the wedding season, and, people hoped, the first snow. The word pokrov means a covering, and the saying went that the snow would cover the earth by then.
There won't be snow here by the fourteenth. But I like having an old date to work toward. This week is for bringing in the last of everything.
The list on the fridge
- Pick the last calendula before the frost turns them to mush
- Strain this summer's calendula oil and make the winter salve
- Leave the rose hips for one frost, then pick them all
- Make a batch of pastila with the windfall apples
- Plant the garlic
- Wash and label every jar on the shelf
It is a lot for one week. It always is. But there is something steadying about it — about a calendar that tells you when one season ends and asks you to get ready for the next.