Imbolc \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Woodpecker Moon<\/p>\n
Spring. \u00a0Whoa! \u00a0A season that came and went on the day of its inauguration. \u00a0A high of 79 here yesterday. \u00a079!<\/p>\n
Yes, that’s right, it’s the Spring Equinox again, we’ve reached that point halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice, the time when light begins to dominate in the division between night and day.<\/p>\n
Bruce Watson and his son, local weather geeks, publish an annual meteorological calender with lots of nifty data. \u00a0Just pulled it out for grins and looked up the Summer Solstice, that’s right, exactly three months from now–IN JUNE–and checked out the average 30 year high for June 20th. \u00a0Yep. \u00a079.5. \u00a0Now wow.<\/p>\n
However the season came and went this year, I’ll always remember spring as a spunky little season that used to hang around and tease with gentle breezes one minute and foot-high drifts the next. \u00a0We don’t need to get all weepy, but those were good springs weren’t they? \u00a0Hockey and blizzards, they just sort of go together.<\/p>\n
Not this year. \u00a0Nope, it’s a couple a rounds and a Bud at the 19th Hole. \u00a0Outside.<\/p>\n
Ostara in the pagan calendar, this holiday nods toward the fertility spring carries in its changeable weather. \u00a0Nowhere more evident than just outside my study window where the grass greened up overnight, buds popped out on the dogwood and those spring ephemerals \u00a0have already lost their slot in the seasonal unfolding.<\/p>\n
It’s through Ostara that Easter got conflated with the easter egg and the easter bunny, both pagan symbols of fertility. \u00a0Just as holiday lights, Christmas trees, yule logs and all that egg nog have nothing to do with the celebration of the incarnation, neither do\u00a0marshmallow rabbits and egg hunts have anything to with the celebration of the resurrection. \u00a0But, hey, who said religion had to be rational. \u00a0Non mois.<\/p>\n
If you’re so inclined, take some time and ponder what’s greening in your life. \u00a0What’s coming to the surface that needs attention and kindness to flourish over the next few months? \u00a0It’s also apt to consider the possibility of resurrection. \u00a0What in your life has been dead, but might return, full force this year?<\/p>\n
Taking the cue from the Christian mythology around this time, you could also examine the suffering and the pain in your life. \u00a0How might it transform into something miraculous? \u00a0 Or, considering Peter, how loyal are you to the ones you love? \u00a0How willing are you to stand \u00a0up, to be there, when things get hard?<\/p>\n
As I heard early on when I moved to Minnesota, spring is a great season here if you happen to be around that weekend. \u00a0I was around, how about you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imbolc \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Woodpecker Moon Spring. \u00a0Whoa! \u00a0A season that came and went on the day of its inauguration. \u00a0A high of 79 here yesterday. \u00a079! Yes, that’s right, it’s the … Continue reading Spring 2012: Were You Around for It?<\/span>