Imbolc Blessings and Walking with Whimsy
This Sunday is the Celtic festival of Imbolc, and we’re celebrating with a full moon walk around Avebury. I can’t wait!
Imbolc is the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox - and traditionally marked the return of the light! And boy, do I feel like I need the light.
I’ve had a serious case of the January blues with not much seeming to help except draaaaaging myself outside to lift my mood. (Why is it that even when we know something will make us feel better, we still resist it?)
And even though the forecast for next week resembles Jane Eyre’s wardrobe, if I walk slowly enough, I can sense a lift.
birds are singing more - have you noticed?
snowdrops are dancing in the wind
the daffodil buds are up, waiting patiently to pop open in a burst of sunshine
the hazel catkins are turning into yellow slinkies - did anyone else play with those as a kid?
Walking and Whimsy
Yesterday I spent the day walking more of the Cotswold Way, a 102 mile trail from Chipping Campden to Bath, with my friend, Laura.
Walking through the winter landscape has opened a new whimsical world for us. We’re able to see all the burrows and tree hollows which are home to our four legged friends, and all of a sudden it’s so easy to imagine Mrs Tiggywinkle in the bank, or Peter Rabbit living with his mother and sisters (Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail) in a cozy rabbit hole under the roots of a big fir tree!
When we happened upon some haws (the small, red berries from Hawthorn trees) floating in a trough, the first thing that came to mind was a squirrel bobbing for apples!
And when we paused for lunch on a well placed bench, two robins appeared and asked if we’d share our sandwich crumbs with them in exchange for a tune. This clearly wan’t their first time, and they’d honed their act very well if you ask me.
When we walk slowly enough, pause often enough, and cultivate enough awareness, we can peer into a whole other world - where trees grow human ears (have you spotted any Jelly Ear fungus this winter?) and squirrels bob for haws. Delightful!
