Snowy days like this make me want to retreat to the kitchen. A place of warmth, of hot coffee brewing (or tea) and the comfort of a good meal. Perhaps a pot is simmering on the stove, filling the house with it’s delicious aroma! However, food is more than just something to fill your belly and stop hunger pangs.
Continue readingCategory: Seasonal Awareness
Midwinter Rituals
This point in the calendar marks the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. In traditions and cultures all around the world, from Christian to pagan and East to West, this date has been a time of celebration. We have made it through the darkest part of the year, inching ever closer to the start of spring, and that seems worthy of momentary pause.
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Finding Nature in Unexpected Places
I live on a tiny island of green, surrounded on all sides by bricks and asphalt. The urban landscape of a little big city. Every where you go there are sidewalks and traffic lights, graffiti and billboards, not a thing left untouched by human hands. And yet, even here, nature can be found and appreciated.
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Cozy Indoor Vibes
Looking to the east, the supermoon is rising slowly above the treetops. The setting was a bit eerie, its luminous glow encircled by bare branches. The moon’s path just so happens to be in alignment with my desk window (which is quite unusual). So I got to peek at it numerous times without even getting out of my chair. It was very bright and the moonlight seemed quite strong, enough to cast clearly defined shadows across the sill.
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Winter Storms & Seasonal Food
Damp, and yet, not quite precipitating. Fairly warm, around 60°F at 10:52 am. By afternoon, the sun had started to break through the clouds. A bit windy with intermittent strong gusts. I took advantage of the warm spell and opened a few windows to let in some fresh air.
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What Are Microseasons?
Simply put, a ‘microseason’ is a very short seasonal segment lasting 5 to 6 days. This term is derived from the traditional Japanese calendar that divides the year into 72 seasons. This system originated in China and is based on an ancient solar-lunar calendar.
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