Happy February!

No sooner had January said au revoir than the sun came out this morning! That's at least a little bit of progress. Driving home from dinner last night, there was still light in the sky until a little after 5:30 pm, so that might have been a (can't resist) foreshadowing. Now that February's here, before we know it, we'll be complaining about heat and humidity. 😉

We all know that February is Black History Month. It's also the month in which we celebrate:

• Groundhog Day
• Valentine's Day
• Presidents Day
• Leap Day
• Love your pet day, and, my favorite,
• Do a grouch a favor day

early February hoarfrost

Photo by J. Harrington

For a complete list of other observances in February, click here. February is also the month in which the Better Half's birthday, which occurs in early March, sneaks up on me almost every year to surprise me with a "how did the day after tomorrow get to be her birthday and why haven't I ordered a cake and bought a present?" There are disadvantages to this being the shortest month, another one being that, since presidential elections occur on leap years, we're subjected to an extra day of political campaigning and fundraising. Then again, February is the month in which we've had the most beautiful hoarfrost occurrences I've ever seen. The full moon this month, known as the Snow Moon, occurs February 9 locally.

Convergence

By Christine Stewart-Nuñez

Through the bedroom window 

a February sunrise, fog suspended 

between pines. Intricate crystals— 

hoarfrost lace on a cherry tree. 

My son calls out, awake. We sway, 

blanket-wrapped, his head nuzzling 

my neck. Hoarfrost, tree—I point, 

shaping each word. Favorable 

conditions: a toddler’s brain, hard 

data-mining, a system’s approach. 

Hoar, he hears. His hand reaches 

to the wallpaper lion. Phenomena 

converge: warmth, humidity, 

temperature’s sudden plunge;  

a child’s brain, objects, sound. 

Eyes widening, he opens his mouth 

and roars. 

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