Tag: Imbolc

The spark is lit.

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.

The_fire_within

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.Manky rabbitbrush

Tidy RabbitbrushMy 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.

Holiday Lights

I’ve really been enjoying my free time! Getting lots of other things done around the house. This morning we had a very successful rehearsal for our upcoming Imbolc Ritual. We will be honoring the return of light, the growing and continually rising cycle of the Sun, we will ignite the spark of our creative passions as we look to the future with hope and joy. Sparks, ignition, time to think about projects to come.

snow drops

Time to get the lights off the trees and shrubs so I can start the winter pruning!  So I poked my head outside to see how cold it was. Not too bad, in the 40’s, a lot of the snow has melted and the pathways are passable. No excuses available. I’ll start with the south berm trees and shrubs first, because the south berm has the least amount of snow on it. Two tubs of lights, and one tub for the electrical cords and timers, done. All the tubs are numbered and labeled and they go into storage in the opposite order that they will come out next year when we repeat this holiday light ritual all over again. It’ll take me the rest of next week to get all the lights down.

Time to remove the holiday lights

The fresh crisp air really uplifts my spirits, and all that slogging around in the snow has me peeling layers in fifteen minutes. There’s one little daffodil top poking out, everyone else is still asleep. The birds have wiped out the seed in the feeder again and the bird bath fell over. I can see the rabbits have munched the grape hyacinth and early species tulip tops completely down to the ground again this year. Bastards!

But the Mother always works towards balance. On the way back to the garage with the first full tub of lights – – – bunny parts on the path. Yea! Poor little dead bunny foo foo. Bwhaaaaaahahahahaha.