About the Beginning of Spring

February 4 - 20
First Pentad, February 4 - 9
Second Pentad, February 10 - 14
Third Pentad, February 15 - 19

There’s hope and quiet joy at this time of year as the days lengthen and our minds turn toward the sun. In our calendars, we begin to plan the months of March, April, and May – and there is a quiet understanding that spring is nearly upon us. The earth is slowly beginning to wake up, too. The green tips from bulbs are pushing up through the soil, and there is a quickening as nature awakes hesitantly, ever hesitantly. There may be many false starts before we can welcome spring in earnest – remember, this is only the beginning –  so it is best to keep expectations at bay and the scarves and warm socks close at hand. Even though the natural world may still be wrapped in grey and brown, the blossom is beginning to unfurl in our hearts.

Beginning of Spring
Podcast Episode

In this hopeful episode, "The Beginning of Spring," Alexis and Kit notice signs of winter's end among the scents of the trees, the songs of birds, and a special, perhaps romantic, feeling in the air. Hiro's Corner takes a look at a boggy perennial.

Click here for the poems and songs featured on this episode.

Words of the Season

In the Sky

Lingering Cold
Crisp weather
Shallow Spring
Spring Light
Bush Warblers

In the Ground

Catkins and Pussy Willows
Plum blossoms

In Our Lives

Pruning and Preparing the Garden
Controlled Burns
Maple Tapping and Maple Syrup
Cats in Love
Valentine’s Day
Pancakes and Shrove Tuesday
Mardi Gras
The Spring Festival or Chinese New Year