August

Poems, Quotes, Folklore
Sayings, Links, References
Ideas, Garden Chores, Celebrations

Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo

Quotes  ...  Links  ... References  ...  Chores

Quotes

Summertime
And the living is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy's rich
And your mama's good lookin'
So hush little baby now
don't you cry

One of these mornin's
You're gonna rise up singin'
Then you'll spread your wings
And take to the sky

But til that mornin'
Ain't nothin' can harm you
With your daddy
And your mammy
standin' by

-   George Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, Porgy and Bess

What wondrous life is this I lead!
Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons, as I pass,
Ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass.
-  Andrew Marvell, Thoughts in a Garden

And hate the bright stillness of the noon
without wind, without motion.
the only other living thing
a hawk, hungry for prey, suspended
in the blinding, sunlit blue.

And yet how gentle it seems to someone
raised in a landscape short of rain—
the skyline of a hill broken by no more
trees than one can count, the grass,
the empty sky, the wish for water.
-  Dana Gioia, California Hills in August

August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a matchflame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away.
-  Elizabeth Maua Taylor

There's a time each year
That we always hold dear,
Good old summer time;
With the birds and the trees'es
And sweet scented breezes,
Good old summer time,
When you day's work is over
Then you are in clover,
And life is one beautiful rhyme,
No trouble annoying,
Each one is enjoying,
The good old summer time.
-  Lyrics by Ron Shields
In the Good Old Summertime

Once upon a Lammas Night
When corn rigs are bonny,
Beneath the Moon's unclouded light, 
I held awhile to Annie...
The time went by with careless heed
Between the late and early,
With small persuasion she agreed
To see me through the barley...
Corn rigs and barley rigs,
Corn rigs are bonny!
I'll not forget that happy night
Among the rigs with Annie!
-   Robert Burns

'Lughnassad' means 'the funeral games of Lugh', referring to Lugh, 
the Irish sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral 
games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother Tailte. For that reason, 
the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last 
for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time. As autumn begins, 
the Sun God enters his old age, but is not yet dead. It is also a 
celebration of the first harvest. The Christian religion adopted this 
theme and called it 'Lammas', meaning 'loaf-mass', a time when 
newly baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar. An alternative 
date around August 5 (Old Lammas), when the sun reaches 
15 degrees Leo, is sometimes employed by Covens.
-   Wiccan Holidays, Lughnassad (July 31 - August Eve)

  O Spirit of the Summertime!
        Bring back the roses to the dells;
    The swallow from her distant clime,
        The honey-bee from drowsy cells.

    Bring back the friendship of the sun;
        The gilded evenings, calm and late,
   When merry children homeward run,
        And peeping stars bid lovers wait.

    Bring back the singing; and the scent
        Of meadowlands at dewy prime;—
   Oh, bring again my heart's content,
        Thou Spirit of the Summertime!
-   William Allingham

When in still air and still in summertime 
A leaf has had enough of this, it seems 
To make up its mind to go; fine as a sage 
Its drifting in detachment down the road.
-  Howard Nemerov, Threshold

Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
    Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
    Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.
-  Michelle L. Thieme, August's Crown

Birds fly in formation;
Tree leaves sway from side to side;
Clouds gather in small huddles,
discussing the weather;
Grass shoots shoot up once more,
their roots replenished;
A Phoenix nearby hums his Ode;
Tranquility is in place,
after the long bitter wait;
Alive, now, is the world
-  J. I. Stuart, Aguust

Summer's lease hath all to short a date.
-   William Shakespeare

From the great trees the locusts cry
In quavering ecstatic duo--a boy
Shouts a wild call--a mourning dove
In the blue distance sobs--the wind
Wanders by, heavy with odors
Of corn and wheat and melon vines;
The trees tremble with delirious joy as the breeze
Greets them, one by one--now the oak
Now the great sycamore, now the elm.
-  Hamlin Garland

When the blackberries hang
swollen in the woods, in the brambles
nobody owns, I spend

all day among the high
branches, reaching
my ripped arms, thinking

of nothing, cramming
the black honey of summer
into my mouth; all day my body

accepts what it is. In the dark
creeks that run by there is
this thick paw of my life darting among

the black bells, the leaves; there is
this happy tongue.
-   Mary Oliver, August

"August, the eighth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the 
third month of Summer’s rule, derives its name from Augustus (Augustus 
Caesar). The traditional birthstone amulets of August are the peridot and 
the sardonyx; and the gladiolus and the poppy are the month’s traditional 
flowers.  August is shared by the astrological signs of Leo the Lion and 
Virgo the Virgin, and is sacred to the following Pagan deities: Ceres, the 
Corn Mother, Demeter, John Barleycorn, Lugh, and all goddesses who 
preside over agriculture.  During the month of August, the Great Solar 
Wheel of the Year is turned to Lammas, one of the four Grand Sabbats 
celebrated each year by Wiccans and modern Witches throughout 
the world."
-   Secrets of a Witch

"The Chinese also have a day devoted to love. Qi Qiao Jie, or the seventh eve, is often referred 
to as Chinese Valentine's Day.  While the annual gift giving commonly associated with St. Valentine's 
Day doesn't take place, there are several charming customs associated with this romantic day 
for lovers.  There are two legends surrounding the origins of Chinese Valentine's Day. Both involve 
the position of the stars on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar 
(August 11th in the year 2005).  According to the first version (my favorite), the seven daughters 
of the Goddess of Heaven caught the eye of a Cowherd during one of their visits to earth.  The 
daughters were bathing in a river and the Cowherd, Niu Lang, decided to have a bit of fun by 
running off with their clothing. It fell upon the prettiest daughter (who happened to be the seventh 
born), to ask him to return their clothes.  Of course, since Niu Lang had seen the daughter, Zhi Nu, 
naked, they had to be married. The couple lived happily for several years. Eventually however, 
the Goddess of Heaven became fed up with her daughter's absence, and ordered her to return 
to heaven.  However, the mother took pity on the couple and allowed them to be reunited once 
a year.  Legend has it that on the seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies form a bridge 
with their wings for Zhi Nu to cross to meet her husband."
-  Rhonda Parkinson    and  Night of Sevens (Qi Xi, Qi Qian Jie)

Summer - Quotes for Gardeners

Seasons and Time

August

Links and References

August Month - Customs and Traditions

Celebrating Lammas - School of the Seasons

Cuttings - August   Short poems by Mike Garofalo.

The Green Wizard   

Lammas or Lughnassadh Annotated Bibliography by Kathleen Jenks  Excellent!!!

Lammas or Lughnassadh Links from DMOZ

Lammas or Lughnassadh Ritual   

Lammas Sabbat Ritual.   By Rhiana Moonstar.  

Lammas, Wiccan Celebration, August 1st

The Man Who Loved Plants.   By Edgar Oliver.

Months - August - Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Monthly Chores  

Lughnasad.   By Sig Lonegren.  

Lughnassadh    Celtic lore and recipes.

Lughnassadh, August 1st,  Pagan and Wiccan Sabbats and Holidays  
"The great corn ritual of Wiccan belief (in Celtic realms this is the celebration of the 
wheat god, corn is an Americanization and it is possible there is an American Indian 
traditional holiday near this date that was borrowed by the American Neopagans). 
This is the big celebration of the harvest (Sort of a Pagan Thanksgiving, but the time 
clock is different as is that of the Celtics).   Much feasting and dancing occur, though 
it is a bit more somber than many of the other holidays."  

Lughnasadh (Lammas) Lore  12Kb

Moon Lore   August's moon is the Corn Moon.  

Night of Sevens (Qi Xi, Qi Qian Jie)   A Chinese holiday.  

A Passage Through August

Poem Hunter - August

Quotes for Gardeners    Over 2,700 quotes arranged by over 135 topics.   

The Sacred Wheel   

Summer  -  Quotes, Poems, Sayings and Quips for Gardeners

Weather Almanac for August - Seasonal Lore

Wicca Holidays and Sabbaths

Wiccan Holidays, Lughnassad (July 31 - August Eve)

August Garden Chores

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA

USDA Zone 9

Water plants: take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade,
use mulch, water plants deeply and less frequently.
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns.
Mulch and compost: cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.  
Manage cutworms and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables.
Use mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintain the on lawn mowing equipment and power tools.
Work on carpentry projects.  
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.  
Train vines on support structures.  
Read, listen to music, relax and sleep in the shade.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom.  
Maintain lawn: water, fertilize, mow, clean, plant, spray, etc..

California Gardening Books and Websites- Monthly Chores:

Fifty Two Weeks in the California Garden.  By Richard Smaus.  Los Angeles Times,
1996.  ISBN: 1883792118.    

Garden Chores for the California Central Valley, Foothills, and Bay Area

Gardening Month by Month in Northern California.  By Bob Tanem and Don Williamson.
Lone Pine Publishing, 2004.  160 pages.  ISBN: 1551053659.

Northern California Gardening: A Month by Month Guide.  By Kathernine Grace Endicott.
Chronicle Books, 1996.  384 pages.  ISBN: 0811809269.   

Northern California Gardening: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes

August Gardening Chores and Tips