February 9, 2016 Wednesday
At Imbolc we kindled the spark deep within us, to awaken our dormant potential. What is it that we want to manifest in 2016? What is it that we want to grow in our lives? These are the questions of Imbolc. Last week the Mother was sleeping beneath 10″ of snow. Yesterday and today the temperatures have been in the high fifties, the snow is almost completely gone. As I started working on the spring pruning, I can see signs of spring. The daffodils are pushing up around the red maples, so are the grape hyacinths (although the rabbits have eaten off all the tops). The Mother’s awake! Spring is on the way.
I started pruning on the south berm because the snow is melted the most there, and the ground is only a little spongy. So far I’ve finished the rabbit brush, the purple smoke bush and the street-facing red twig dogwoods. The Dogwood and the smoke bush branches will go into the shredder, but the rabbit brush goes to the trash. The garbage man is going to love this pile! I was covered head to foot yesterday in rabbit brush fuzz.
My back hurts and my forearms hurt from all the pruning. Already. I had to get the big lopper out. It saves my hands and arms but it takes longer. This year I’ve got to behave myself or I’ll be done gardening by April. Mom is right. She lectures me every time we talk. “You can’t charge around the yard, digging holes, pulling hoses and dragging around heavy pots like you used to do.” Yes, yes I know. But it’s Imbolc, the spark has been lit! The Mother calls . . .
The list of all the things that need to get done is dancing around in front of me;
all my ideas for this year’s gardening projects are spinning in my head.
But it’s a small flame, like a flickering candle flame. And I need to remember to manage the fire in my heart, because that fire roars! But the fire in my body is dimming, except for the fire in my joints. So this year’s theme will be patience, moderation and maintenance. I’m trying to get excited about that. Time to slather on some “medicinal salve” and go to bed.