Imbolc and the Big Garden Birdwatch.
Spring is on the way...
I’ve been feeling it, seeing it and even smelling it gradually over the last few days…spring is on the way. It has helped of course that the weather has been milder, the daylight hours are slowly drawing out and plants are beginning to sprout up in the garden. Jack Frost will be back, probably with a vengeance before winter is over for another year, but I do love the changing seasons.
It is also the first day of February - known as Imbolc in the ancient / pagan calendar. Imbolc is observed on the first and second days of the month, it is positioned half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and signals the start of spring. In ancient times the fertility Goddess, Brigid was worshipped by lighting lamps and fires to welcome her, and effigies of her would be fashioned from rushes. It was said that a cloth placed outside the home on Imbolc-eve would be blessed by Brigid as she visited, the cloth could then be used to help heal headaches and sore throats throughout the year.
Snowdrops were thought to spring up where Brigid had walked - the first true flowers of spring and a sign of life stirring beneath the soil. They are simple and delicate looking, but tough as nails, they will survive hard frosts and look beautiful poking up through the snow. The other well-known sign of spring is the catkin, on a walk through the woods this weekend we saw lots - a good sign of hazel nuts later in the year.
The other thing we did this weekend apart from go for a lovely walk, was complete the Big Garden Birdwatch held each year by the RSPB. All you do is pick an hour over the designated weekend to watch and record the birds that land in your garden, a spot in the local park, within view of a balcony or even on a rooftop. We have done it for a few years now, and as is typical hardly any birds show up for that hour! Our garden is usually bustling with several species mobbing the feeders, but for that hour on Sunday there was hardly a feather to be seen. But poor results are still results so hopefully our figures will help form the bigger picture. Randomly as we were forlornly looking out of the window a Great Spotted Woodpecker landed in the holly tree - we never have them so he got logged along with a cry of ‘we’ve only got a f*@£ing woodpecker!’ from the binocular-wielding husband. Good times.
Anyway, take care, thank you to my new followers ( I see you Bruf ) I hope you enjoy my ramblings.