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| First crocus of the season |
While I was out walking today (yes, I can walk again, not as far as I'd like, and it hardly hurts at all) I saw these pretty signs of spring out of the corner of my eye. Of course I had to stop and admire the crocus (crocuses?) coming up out of the ground. I was actually surprised to see them and kept my eye out for more during the remainder of the walk, but these were the only ones. So far, that is: we are only a few days away from Groundhog Day (on February 2) and tomorrow, February 1, is Imbolc, a Gaelic festival that was traditionally a time of weather divination, with an old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens. From Wikipedia:
Imbolc was believed to be when the Cailleach—the divine hag of Gaelic tradition—gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she wishes to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people would be relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.
Yep, that sure sounds a lot like Groundhog Day to me! Whatever the reason for the festival, I am really glad to know that from now on, the days will start getting longer more quickly, and soon we will be planting our summer harvest. And I will try to keep myself from getting re-injured by taking it much easier on the old bones and joints. It sure felt good to get outside in the sunshine today!
:-)
It amazes me, the things you spot on your walks... if you lived in Pittsburgh, you wouldn't even be THINKING of spring for another 2 months! But I'm glad to hear you're out and not confined to indoors DJan, I know that is not for you.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing signs of spring, even in a photo. Today is the first day in two weeks the high was above freezing where I live. Tomorrow the temperature goes back down again, but the bright sun and blue sky make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteDiL in Vancouver sent me a photo of snowdrops. They usually bloom before crocuses AFAIK.
ReplyDeleteBe patient with your injuries and make sure that they are completely healed before becoming fully active again. Well your spring might be fast approaching but not so much here!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to read that you can get out and about again. Take it easy though - please.
ReplyDeleteNo signs of autumn here yet.
Wishing we had some sun. Rain, Rain, go away. Love seeing the dainty flowers.
ReplyDeleteThe days are noticeably longer now. Yay. The return of the light is a great reason to celebrate, take it easy, Jan.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are out walking and enjoying the early buddings.
ReplyDeleteThere may be some truth to the Gaelic legend. I think the hag is gathering wood right now for the day is bright and fairly warm where as they are predicting cold, and possible ice storms for Wed. and Thurs. Sounds like there might be some truth. Just hope the old hag lets us keep our power.
Do take it easy .
Glad to hear youbare out walking without pain again. It is lovely when you start seeing the spring flowers in bloom.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about all the pain. Get well soon so you can follow all those signs!
ReplyDeleteOh-oh, if that is true about Cailleach, and today here in Texas is bright and sunny, then the prediction of winter icy weather on the way is probably true. But except for last year with the Arctic Freeze that hit the area and messed up our power grids, usually icy weather doesn't last more than a day or two here. Hope so, anyway. But glad to know that you are out and about, DJan.
ReplyDeleteStormy here so may Spring is coming early!! I am all for that!
ReplyDeleteDear DJan, we are under a winter snow advisory here in western Missouri, so according to your posting info, that means that winter is almost over. Right? We'd had hardly any snow thus far this winter, but many unseasonably cold days here in Missouri.
ReplyDeleteI looked back at your last four or five postings so as to discover how you injured yourself. The problem with not reading blogs for several weeks--and I have an off-and-on habit of doing this--is that I miss out on what is happening to virtual friends like you. It's like I do magical thinking--or perhaps narcissistic thinking. That is, I seem to think that if I'm not reading blogs nothing is happening with friends far and wide. Then I return and discover all that has gone on. I so hope you take care of yourself. With aging, our bodies take much longer to heal than they did when we were younger. Please be good to yourself. Be gracious to you! Peace.
I'm glad you can go for walks again. I'm still pretty much limited to my yard or walking around stores pushing a cart, but I am slowly getting better.
ReplyDeleteThose old yellow crocus always are the first to pop up. None here yet, but we don't have much of a sunny spot for them so the few we have will take their sweet time.
We have sun and clouds here. I'll get outside for a bit this afternoon.
Can't believe you've got crocus in bloom!
ReplyDeleteIt will be nice to have February out of the way in 28 days! February is usually our "cold" month here in Hawaii when it dips to the 60's. Brrrr!
ReplyDeleteIt'll be late April before we see that.
ReplyDeleteYou inspire all of us with your fortitude! Admire the beauty around you and keep on smiling!
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