Spring Equinox: Day 5

Rob was on a long shift today, so I decided to spend the day mostly wandering around (sometimes by myself, sometimes with others).

A Walk in Crumpsall Park

First up, I had a meeting in the park with Friends of Crumpsall Park. And I spotted the first of the daisies!

Milk Cake and Chai

After the park meeting, I walked over to You, Me and Tea in Crumpsall for some Pistachio Milk Cake and Pink Chai (which both looked suitably seasonal).

A Walk in Blackley Forest

Then after the cake, I wandered through Blackley Forest for a bit, enjoying some springtime peace and quiet.

A Walk in Heaton Park

Later on in the afternoon, me and my mum went for a little walk in Heaton Park.

Bailey’s Wood Spring Equinox Walk

Finally, I led a community Spring Equinox Walk in the Woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood, sharing stories and folklore of the season.

Imbolc: Day 1

We're beginning our Year of Celebrating the Seasons this week, with seven days of Imbolc celebrations. We've already come up with a couple of (hopefully) new traditions that we're looking forward to, but today was all about enjoying the last bits of winter and some tiny glimpses of spring.

Imbolc Lights

One of our new traditions (we think) is keeping some of the Christmas lights up until Imbolc, to keep the winter darkness at bay. I know some people keep their Christmas tree up and decorated until Imbolc, but that seemed a bit much for us. We've just kept a little corner of festive light to see us through.

The Haunting Season

I wanted something seasonally appropriate to read in the period between Christmas and Imbolc, and so I chose The Haunting Season. This is a collection of short stories that I skim-read for my radio show in December but didn't get to enjoy properly over the Christmas period. It seemed just right for the wintery gap between our seasonal festivities.

Snowdrops

I spent a lovely half hour with a friend today, snowdrop-spotting in our local park.

French Toast

I don't know if this is seasonal or not (since I've happily ordered it at other times of the year), but we celebrated our successful snowdrop hunt with French toast at You, Me and Tea! It certainly felt festive.

Imbolc Earrings

Continuing the snowdrop theme, my first set of Imbolc earrings for the year were a pair of cute little snowdrops. I'm building up my seasonal earring collections, so I don't have quite as many for Imbolc as I do for Halloween and Christmas. I'm getting there though!

Starve Acre

It was actually quite difficult to find a seasonally-appropriate book to read this week, as most wintery fiction is set around Christmas/winter solstice. I've chosen Andrew Michael Hurley's Starve Acre, as I believe it's set in February. Hurley has a story in The Haunting Season as well, so I might have to watch that he doesn't just become my go-to seasonal fiction writer!

Imbolc Tea

I'm not going to go all out like I do for Halloween and Christmas, but I did want to have at least one Imbolc-appropriate tea. I've got Snow Buds, a white tea from Tugboat in Truro. It's a 'treasure of a tea', apparently. I think it's very flavourful for a white tea, which is no bad thing at all.