Welcome to As the Season Turns, the podcast following each month of the year. As the Hedrose

change, the full moons come and go, and nature takes its course in the garden. I'm Leila

Lander as a nature writer and author of The Almanac, a seasonal guide.

And this podcast is brought to you by Fern, makers of small batch organic natural perfume,

who blend, barrel age and bottle four fragrances a year, released at the equinoxes and solstices.

We hope that this brief guide to what to look for in the month ahead will awaken you to the rhythms of the year and help you, in the words of the poet Ray Carver, settle deeper into the seasons.

There's a lovely, lazy feel to August.

It's one of the few moments in the year when there's a natural lull to our busy lives,

a noticeable lifting of the foot off of the gas.

Suddenly, every other email you send is met instantly by an out-of-office reply, which might as well say,

I'm elsewhere, laazing under a tree,

reading a book, splashing in a shimmering wave. And so even if you aren't on holiday yourself,

there's a palpable lowering of expectations in August. Can I get away without doing this? Yes, probably. Things can wait. There is sunny weather

to enjoy and blooming gardens and the sea is as warm as it will ever be. Sometimes August can

feel like we've entered the doldrums without quite meaning to, but go with it, I say. Busy, industrious

September will be along soon enough. But for now, it's August. Don't fight the lull.

The naming of August.

Lunastal in Scots Gallic.

August in Scots and Auster Scots.

Lunasa in Irish Gaelic.

Luanistin in Manx.

Aus in Welsh.

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