Sångshyttan Micro Season Calendar
Inspired by Japanese tradition and Alexa Firmenich on her blog Lifeworlds, we now create a micro season calendar. We follow life on the farm as it unfolds over the course of a year. It describes different events and important relationships that we have with the more than human world on the farm. Instead of dividing each day into one of four seasons, the Japanese calendar is divided into 72 different sections. Each of these sections lies within one of 24 divisions, all of which have been given descriptively beautiful names. The 72 sections (or kō) only last for about five days each, but still perfectly describe what happens as life blossoms and ebbs.
26 – 30 October / Autumspring
The trees sing of thrushes and tits as in spring. It's like a symphony that holds a concert in various trees around the site. If I close my eyes and sense the misty stillness and listen to the song, it could just as easily be a spring day in May as a day in late October. I think the birds are gathering to leave soon for more southerly latitudes. Perhaps they are heralding the coming cold?
21 – 25 October / Wind in the trees
South-westerly winds sweep in and the trees are helped to drop all their leaves to the ground. The rotting process can begin. The trees are once again bare and the roots harbour energy over the winter. The relationships between trees, houses and neighbours become more visible in the nakedness.
16 – 20 October / Fullmoon bath
The dark autumn night is great for "moon light bathing". Just before midnight, I sit down in my outdoor chair and sink into the strange light that fills my whole being and makes me almost luminescent. There is a power of shadow in the light that can be stored in my body to be used when needed, other days.
11 -15 October / Fish hibernation
Now that the water has reached about 10 degrees Celsius, our beloved fish no longer want to eat food, they want to sink to the bottom and hibernate for the winter. The pond's inhabitants are becoming fewer and the water lily is also falling asleep.
6 -10 October / Dark mornings
It becomes more difficult to get up early in the morning before work, being on the math facing my body in yoga. It's completely dark when the bell rings and it feels like it's the middle of the night. It takes a little more inner strength and a good night's sleep but as I am donethen the light slowly emerges when the sun awakens.
1 – 5 October / Honey feast
The honey that we collected from our bees has now been tossed and stirred and poured into jars. It tastes divine and we are delighted to savour the summer while sending our gratitude to the bees for their successful pollination. It's all connected. We have named the honey: Wild Meadows (Vilda ängar).