Meadowlarks in the Snow

Yesterday was of course Groundhog Day, and I forgot to send out my Groundhog Day cards. Here as elsewhere, the day was bright enough for the large rodent to see its shadow when dragged out from its comfy den into a shockingly cold morning, so it's another six weeks of winter, weather fans. But Groundhog Day is merely a demeaned version of what was once an important day, one of the four cross-quarter days which filled out the calendar of the year; it's called Candlemas in the Christian calendar and Imbolc in the druidic one. In a lot of cultures it was considered the first of spring and was celebrated as a time of quickening, with fire and water. The signs are subtle--the trees are beginning to awaken, though they won't be in leaf for a couple of months yet. I see the buds on the trees beginning to swell, though it's not as obvious as last year due to January's colder weather this year. If we raised sheep or goats (thankfully, we don't) we would be expecting lambs and kids soon and having to bring them into the warmth when it snowed again (I've never understood why sheep breeders don't keep the rams out of the flock until later so that the lambs would be born in warm weather, but then I don't raise them, so there!). The little birdies are twittering as they start jockeying for mates and breeding sites, and the chickens are starting to lay more and more each week (good thing, as my customers have been clamoring for eggs for a while).

So yesterday I didn't celebrate by lighting candles or washing my floors with salt water (though lord knows, they could use it, I'm sure!). Instead, I started some seeds I specifically chose for this day, Angelica archangelica and woad seeds. These are in a flat which I've placed out in the shade house, where they can be snowed on and be treated to alternating cold and warmer conditions. Then they'll come back into the warmth of the greenhouse at about the time of the Solstice, and they should hopefully be sprouting a few weeks after that.

Wendy says she celebrated Imbolc by going to Sam's and buying in bulk.

Today certainly doesn't look like spring, no way. It started snowing around 8:00 this morning, and it's been heavy and steady since then. It's a very wet snow, accumulating fast, and falling hard enough that you can hear a continual hiss as it lands. We took the sled full of warm water down for the birds, and by the time we were done--about 45 minutes, we were totally soaked and cold. But this snow is what we've been waiting for, and we don't plan on going anywhere today or tomorrow. Just as well, as the local Interstate highways are being closed as they get truly nasty and start producing really bad accidents. All the schools are closing early, and I don't expect them to be open tomorrow.

But the signs are still there. Earlier I heard the clear notes of a meadowlark's song, and just now when I was watching the snow fall, suddenly there were a dozen or so of them, sporting their bright yellow vests with a black necktie. I think these are males arriving early before the girls show up in a couple of weeks, and most of them will probably not be staying. Still, that brilliant yellow flash in the snow is a cheering thing.