Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
Sep 2025 / It is all about the Zinnias 🌼
Welcome to Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
Oh, time. How quickly you slip by. Here we are with fall at our doorstep – summer already a memory. I’ll miss the long days, the slow mornings, and that vibe summer always brings. As a parent, my life is often guided by my daughter’s school schedule, and each new school year is a reminder that these days won’t last forever. In just a few years, she’ll be graduating, and I wonder – will summer ever feel the same? Will the back-to-school season carry with it a bittersweet nostalgia?
One of the unexpected gifts of parenthood is reliving childhood all over again. You’re pulled back into the magic of growing up, remembering the things that once filled your own days with joy. Sharing them with your child, you begin to wonder - why did I ever stop? Why shouldn’t we pitch a tent in the backyard, eat ice cream for dinner, or go searching for snails after the rain? Children don’t just permit us to play again – they remind us of the wonder we once carried so naturally, before we forgot how to see it.
Things included this month:
The Flower of the Month: Zinnias
Solitary Bees: Make up 90% of the bee population
The Corn Moon is September 7th
Creative Prompts to inspire joy
Zinnias were one of the first flowers successfully grown in space aboard the International Space Station in 2016. They can bloom from seed in as little as 60 days. I planted seeds back in June, and my first bloom just popped open last week.
In California, most summer blooms have withered under the relentless sun – but not the zinnias. They get more vibrant. They can even withstand the first frost. I see them often in vibrant shades of amber, rust, marigold, and wine. This seems a good palette to welcome in the autumn season. Though I read they come in every color but blue. They stick around to offer nectar to pollinators as they get ready for hibernation. I assumed bees carried on pollinating year-round in warmer climates, but I’ve since learned that isn’t the case. Pollinators hibernate from November through January.
Solitary Bees 🐝
I can’t help but think: what a missed opportunity lawns can be. Hours of watering, mowing, even pouring on chemicals to keep grass green – when instead we could be filling our spaces with native plants and wildflowers that invite life in. Imagine stepping outside into a yard full of hummingbirds, vibrant blooms, and butterflies each day? Next spring, I plan to integrate more plants that the pollinators love. I have been propagating more lantana - it is a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds.
The Corn Moon 🌙 September 7th
The Corn Moon will officially peak on September 7th at 2:09 P.M. ET.
The corn moon is low and golden on the horizon, as if it carries the warmth of summer’s last days. Its name comes from centuries past, when communities brought in the corn harvest under the moonlight. For several nights in a row, this moon lingers – rising early, shining long – granting farmers more hours to gather their last harvest.
This moon is a symbol of abundance and transition. Bees and butterflies begin to slow their work, birds begin migration guided by the moonlight, and autumn begins.
The Corn Moon reminds us to pause and reflect on what we’ve grown and prepare for the change of season.
Note: If you’re in parts of the world like Europe, Asia, or Australia, you’re in for a treat – a Blood Moon lunar eclipse will be visible this night. Sadly, those of us in the U.S. won’t be able to see it this time - boooooo. Definitely worth looking into if you’re in the right spot.
✨ The Corn Moon Meditation:
Create a little space: Light a candle or incense, sip some tea.
Take some slow breaths: Let yourself be in the moment.
Close your eyes: Picture the September moon glowing golden above you, the Corn Moon. Imagine its light spilling over the fields, illuminating rows of ripened corn, grains, and seeds ready for harvest. This is the season of gathering, of reaping what has been sown. Bring to mind something you’ve been tending in your own life – an idea, a relationship, a project, or even a part of yourself. See it standing tall in the moonlight, full and ready to be received. Stay here for several breaths, feel grateful for what you’ve experienced this summer.
Journal: Open your eyes and write a few pages of what came to mind. Write a page of experiences you are grateful for this past summer.
Crystal Moon Magic:
Do you collect crystals or gemstones? Ever since I was a kid living in Colorado, you could not keep me away from the table of gems. You can pop one of your favorites on the windowsill to soak up some moon magic energy. I carry a favorite stone in my pocket often. When I change, they go flying across the floor. Essentially, I have little magical stones living all around me.
🌿Creative Prompt Ideas for September:
Floral Notes: Take time to look at your garden from this summer. What did you love about it? What did you wish you had made time for? Open up a journal or sketchbook and take notes. Title it, “Dream Garden Spring 2026.” We always tend to forget these things by spring. Get out lots of markers or colored pencils and make it fun! And you don’t need a lot of money to make a fun garden.
Back-to-School: Remember how exciting it was to go back to school? The new clothes, the new classes. Or my favorite part, the school supplies. I loved picking out a new notebooks and colored pens. I dare you to go down the back-to-school aisle and pick out a new notebook and a fun pack of pens. Then, each day, write a little poem, write what you are grateful for, doodle something in lots of colors. It is a fun place to play each day. Just like you are a kid again.
The Corn Moon Meditation: Nothing feels better than making a little quiet space for yourself late at night. The candle in a dark room, some incense, a cozy blanket on the floor. If you can’t sit still, that’s okay. Neither can I. I usually stretch on my yoga mat while I meditate.
Fall Art Challenge: This September I’m hosting a Botanical Beasties art challenge on Instagram. I will share the prompts below. It is all about creatures and nature (my favorite subject matter). If you happen to be over there, join me for a prompt or two. Or you can also share here on Substack in the comments or in notes.
Until Next Time✨,
Kim
I plan to participate in the September prompts! Thank you so much for the daily dose of magic that lands in my stack each day. Such a wonderful read, and beautiful art!