Lots of rain and mud continued in our lives but the easterly chill that gripped most of Britain bypassed us and we escaped the bitter weather and snow. The month ended on a brilliant sunny note. We were bathed in warm sunshine for two whole days. Daisies popped up and showed their faces, the first cutting of the grass went ahead in the garden and the catkins covered the hazel and alders alongside of the stream.
We planted more raspberries, blackthorn and wild cherry. I checked all the trees we planted last year. In the small copse on the brow of the hill, we have lost one out of 30 – a field maple but there is still time for it to push out a late bud, I’m hopeful. One of the four oaks we found in the field has been snatched out of the earth, even though it was protected. All the fruit trees and the rowans have survived. The yellows have it this month in terms of colour. Dandelions are spreading over the field, lesser celandine is lining the hedgerows, daffodils are dying in their thousands in the fields, primroses are in attendance and the gorse continues to flourish and increase its flower quota. Thankfully the common field speedwell put in an appearance and brought a bit of blue into our lives. I love a blue flower.
There’s no doubt that many find February a hard month and it gets its fair share of bad press. I think we’d all recognise what Shakespeare described as a “February face, So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness”. It’s clear we all need something to celebrate and perhaps that’s why there are plenty of festivals around the globe, that take place in the month of February. Venice, Columbia, Germany, Brazil, all have festivals. There’s the Mardi Gras, the Chinese New Year and here in Britain we have Candlemas and much older than that, the festival of Imbolc.
Both Imbolc and Candlemas highlight aspects of winter and the coming light, heralding in some way the change of season, the coming of spring. Imbolc translates as ‘in the belly’, an obvious reference to the lambing season and it is part of ancient Celtic traditions, marking the mid - point between winter solstice and spring equinox. Although the Celts were an agricultural society and life was organised around the harvest, they clearly had an understanding of the movement of sun and stars. Many of their ancient, megalithic monuments are aligned with the rising of the sun around the dates of Imbolc and Samhain. The fire in this ceremony is a symbol of the sun’s return. Living amongst these gigantic stones and regularly witnessing the rise and fall of the sun upon them is a reminder to me of the rhythms and constancy of the natural and celestial world and how small we are in the bigger picture of time.
However, there is plenty for us to do while we are here, and the month of February is no time to rest. There were more trees and hedges to plant, willows to cut, leaves to be cleared, seeds to be planted and potatoes to chit. That still left plenty of time to bask in the warmth of the sun at the close of the month and dream of longer days and clear, starry skies. The first stirrings in the land underfoot can be felt and a fresh scent arising from the new growth lingers in the air. Bring on the Spring Equinox.
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