Moonlit Nature Walks in Autumn

As autumn floats in like a leaf drifting from a tree and through our atmosphere, I gaze through the window in wonder as my local park dressed in deep, dark, bold greens, rotates her wardrobe to softened hues of golden-reds, purple-browns, and mustard-yellows.

This is one of the things I love about including Nature Studies in our Home Education: we are always learning, but not just about facts written on a piece of paper in some thick textbook; we are learning by experiencing, observing, slowing down, and paying attention.

Because once upon a time, I was so caught up in the fast-paced rat race of life, getting to the office, getting home, getting cooking, cleaning and homework done, before getting back to the office again, that if the moon itself patted me on the shoulder and said, “Hey beautiful woman, guess what? I am not made of cheese”, I would have been too busy to notice or in such a hurry that I would’ve taken a quick selfie for the ‘gram and kept it moving. My priorities were trash.

But just like nature is always changing, we have a chance to change also: a chance to notice and a chance to reflect.

Oh my, the harvest moon is almost here!

Here are some pictures I took on my phone during our moonlit Harvest Moon night walk on October 7th last year.

The Earth and the sun steadily spin day and night and will soon reach an alignment that will confirm to us here in the Northern Hemisphere that, for sure, autumn has taken her place. Shortly after the Autumn Equinox, the harvest moon will arrive, and there is nothing like a moonlit walk on an autumn eve.

This year’s harvest moon falls on Saturday, September 26th, 2026, and we’ll be on a lovely night walk gazing toward the east so we can see the moon rise as the sun sets. Before that, the autumn equinox falls on Wednesday, 23rd September 2026.

This year, we plan to keep things super simple: a nature walk and picnic on the autumn equinox, and a night walk during the Harvest Moon.

You may have noticed that the Harvest Moon does not fall on the same date every year, but although the date varies, it is usually in September or October and always falls on the full moon closest to the autumn equinox.

The Harvest Moon was traditionally important for farmers because it was, first, a sign that autumn had arrived and, second, as the moon rose while the sun set, extra moonlight meant farmers had more time and light to harvest their big crops. The harvests at this time of year were abundant and needed to be gathered and stored, as people depended on this stored food throughout winter. In the past, when modern tools, street lights, or modern lighting systems were not available, farmers needed extra time to gather crops.