Chatting the Changing of the Seasons with Lia Leendertz

November 6, 2024

Lia Leendertz is a writer best known for her Almanac books and for presenting Ffern’s podcast, As the Seasons Turn. She also writes about gardening, growing food and cooking for the likes of the Guardian, the Telegraph and Gardens Illustrated. The Almanac is the perfect companion to the year ahead, published every year as a seasonal guide that includes everything from practical information about each month to anticipated events such as meteor showers, folklore, the phases of the moon and seasonal recipes. A new episode of As the Seasons Turn is released on the 1st of each month as a guide of what to look out for in the coming weeks, expanding on the themes from the Almanac. Lia also writes a popular Substack, Lia’s Living Almanac where she writes about the little changes in nature that she notices each week.

We caught up with Lia to chat about the changing of the seasons and how to make the most of the winter months.

You write so eloquently about the changing of the seasons. What changes are catching your eye at the moment?

November is such a beautiful moment in the year. We all start getting excited about autumn in October, but November is when we really see the best colours on the trees, and when it all starts to feel a bit serious: mists in the mornings and woodsmoke in the air and fireworks in the distance. If it’s good weather then the light is glorious – low, slanting and golden – but if it isn’t then I try to really embrace the cosiness of indoors, and the contrast between the cold and the wet and my own home. This means lighting lots of candles, eating stew and crumbles, and yes – wearing good knitwear!

How did you conceive the idea for the first edition of The Almanac?

It was really two thoughts combining, in that magical way they sometimes do. I was on holiday in Cornwall while trying to conjure up a book proposal about the year in the garden and kitchen. At the same time I could look out of my window and see the tide coming in and going out, and the sun going down over the sea, followed by the moon rising. I had a sense that I wanted to bring all of this cosmic stuff home with me to my terraced house in Bristol and then, while looking up words that might make a good title for a book about the year, came across the word ‘almanac’. That’s a good word, I thought, and initially thought I would just take the word as a book title and not actually make a real almanac – but once I started to look into what they were, I fell in love with the idea of making an annual almanac that covered the garden and the kitchen but also so much more: tide times and moon phases and the sky at night and folklore. It all just came together then in one big ‘aha’ moment!

Do you have a favourite time of year?

The almanac is all about finding beauty in every moment in the year, and stopping yourself from just living for summer so I always feel like I should say ‘NOW!’ to this question, and I really do love autumn and winter for all their beauty. But like many people, I do lean towards my birthday month. I suppose they are always tinged with a certain magic, that moment when we feel the most special. Mine is May, which is also a very easy month to love. It’s the moment when winter finally relinquishes its grip and the world explodes in green and frothy white cow parsley and elderflower. It’s a real stunner.

We love how your writing makes us appreciate the entire year, but what advice would you give to someone who finds winter difficult?

Winter can be really hard, but I find it really useful to my own mental health to recognise that all of these different moments in the year have a role and a purpose. Yes summer is gorgeous and warm and sociable and you can be out and about, but if you did that all year round you would be exhausted. Embrace your mammal self and enjoy the chance winter gives you to close down, to pull back into your den and to snuggle up. In that space and rest, seeds of creativity can begin to germinate, and we can emerge back out into the world in spring and summer refreshed and rested and renewed. We don’t have to fire on all cylinders all year round. If you don’t like winter I think that’s kind of ok. Let winter be what it is.

What seasonal recipes do you enjoy cooking during this time of year?

I am big on a beany stew and fool my kids into eating it by topping them with mashed potato and calling it cottage pie. Or even better, topping it with cheesy dumplings. We are crumble fans in this house too, and have just polished off an apple and quince version. The main thing though, even if you are only eating potato waffles and a fried egg, is to eat it by candlelight during these dark months. It is such an easy and cheap way of injecting magic into your day, and one of the things to treasure about the darker months.

How do you celebrate the winter equinox?

I will try to catch the sunrise, which isn’t hard at the winter solstice as it’s so late. Even if it’s just by looking out of the window, I want to see it and acknowledge that we have reached the darkest point, and that the year is about to turn. Last year I went to Stanton Drew stone circle and watched and took part in the Druid ceremony there, which was a lot of fun and gave lots of space for contemplation too. But I don’t think you need to do anything so grand. Find a way to mark the moment with a little peace, and ideally a candle or a fire, and to think about the year turning back towards the light.

What are you looking forward to in 2025?

My theme for the 2025 almanac is ‘ancient astronomy’. I chose it because 2025 is a ‘major lunar standstill’ year, which means that the moon is at the height of its 18.6 year cycle. What this means on the ground is that the moon will be at its highest and lowest in our skies (as opposed to the minor lunar standstill in 9 years time, when the swings will be their least dramatic). As the moon looks its largest and is its most beautifully coloured when it is low in the sky, I am looking forward to seeing some really stunning moons.