Despite a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, tomorrow is the day when Druids and others celebrate Imbolc, the festival of growing light. This week in the Northern hemisphere we'll reach a halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Doesn't it make you feel better to know that? Locally, we've gained almost an hour's worth of daylight since December's Solstice.
February: red-osier dogwood in front of tamaracks
Photo by J. Harrington
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One of the signs of Winter's grip loosening that we begin to look for about this time of year is heightened color in Red-osier Dogwood branches. Even with "global warming," it would be a rare year that Minnesotans could see snow drops in bloom much before Spring Equinox. Soon, though, leaf buds on oak trees will begin to swell, dislodging the remaining leaves still clinging from last year.
In less than a month our normal daytime high temperatures should lead to thawing. We can almost hear the faint honks of returning Canada geese and the trumpets of sandhill cranes. That should help get us through the upcoming visit from a polar vortex.
A Celtic Miscellany
Magic rain magic mist magic dew magic hailMagic darkness magic sea magic waves magicRiver magic fountain magic well magic springThat bursts forth when a magic spear piercesRock magic oak tree magic ash magic lime treeMagic bough magic yew magic hawthorn magicTree to make you young again magic tree toPrevent hunger magic thorn magic ivy magicFern magic blossom, mistletoe and mandrakeMagic wild grasses magic wheat magic breathMagic blood magic feather magic dung magicPiss magic mantle magic trousers magic veilMagic hat magic chain magic sword magicShield magic hearth magic bench magic doorMagic cry of a deer or cry of a magic deer;Seven as a magic number magic the humanHead for divination magic also the head ofA dog, magic too vessels that burst in the fireTo uncover disobedience magic the riverThat rises to drown liars magic the stoneThat causes silence magic the deep lakeThat causes forgetfulness magic the hazelnutThat makes a lover foolish magic the stoneThat banishes sorrow magic the charm boughtCheaply in the form of small poetry books,Or nine the magic number and the magicNumber seven again and the magic twelve alsoAnd green as that magic color violet as magicRed as magic black as magic white as magicPurple also as a magic hue and also red again;Magic also the felling of two oak trees in a woodAnd the magic wand used by the Druids toFind your beloved carried away by fairies—And, when all else fails, magic the new-fangledBlessings of Christians swarming into our oakWood now, making even the disappeared speak.
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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.
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