Snow on the ground, fog in the air. High humidity and rising temperatures. They may say that the groundhog saw his shadow in Pennsylvania, but here in West Virginia, he'd have had to have some bright TV lights to make that happen.
But the Hag of Beara' (also called the Cailleach) certainly slept on, which means an early Spring, so perhaps that PA groundhog was right.
Yesterday was also Imbolc, or Imbolg, which in times past was regarded as the first day of Spring. In our farming days we usually started up the greenhouse at the beginning of February, and got the tobacco bed burned off. The sap is already running in the trees and the syrup-makers will soon be busy. There are some stalwart daffodils and other bulbs poking wary shoots through the snow, so perhaps the old pagans were right in calling this the beginning of the new season. I rather like that idea.
We had an early morning visitor here, not a groundhog but this quiet deer that stood and looked at me until I finally closed the door.
Is she also a predictor of weather? I have never read anything to suggest that, but I will accept her presence as a sign that winter will follow its usual ornery way and end whenever it sees fit. That's a prediction that will certainly come true.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
It's certainly a word in England, Sue, but it has a rather different meaning.
ReplyDeleteSNOG! Such an appropriate word for snow and fog. I think, with your permission, I'll use that in the future. Your description of the weather is usually spot-on!
ReplyDeleteFoggy here too. Ground hog wouldn't have seen his shadow here in southern Iowa. I'm hoping for an early spring. We have 10" of snow on the ground.
ReplyDeleteYeah, John, I know that definition, LOL! But like so many words in the English language, can't it have two completely different definitions? (Although, with Valentine's Day coming, I might like a little bit of snogging...)
ReplyDelete10"?? Good grief, Nance. Ours all melted yesterday, so now we have mud :/ We only had a little covering though. That's the way it's been all winter. Enough to look pretty, but not enough to be a problem.
ReplyDelete