One thing that we’ve often forgotten is how to live in harmony with the seasons. Wildlife still does this, shutting down in winter (bats, hedgehogs and dormice hibernate). In summer, they seek shade and don’t exert themselves too much, spring brings fresh shoots and looking for food. And autumn is a time to wind down and appreciate scents of fallen rustling brown and red leaves.
But many humans do things differently. We often see people roasting in the sun and then getting burns (or cancer), others go out running in freezing cold weather because they have become addicted to exercise. Supermarkets are full of people buying spring asparagus in winter (imported) and in autumn, people speed up rather than slow down, preferring to look at video games instead of enjoying forest walks, to enjoy the changing colour of the trees.
Ayurveda (an ancient Indian form of medicine) tells us to live our days with the seasons. So you would follow a cooling regimen in summer (pitta time) like having salads, but in winter you would eat warming soups and stews, and wear a hat and scarf, to keep warm in colder weather. It’s common sense, but gone by the wayside.
Eating seasonal foods is another way to help. In England, we have a ‘hungry gap’ (when the winter harvest has gone but nothing is yet ripe for spring). Apart from kale, there’s not much else. But you could use frozen goods from PYO farm trips or simply eat mostly potatoes and other local crops, then wait for seasonal produce like asparagus to emerge.