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.
12 – 16 February / Sun-heated south side
Sunny days are warming despite the night cold and all the south sides are getting snow free and I see all the little micro sheltered places. There, grass and flower wake up despite the cold nights that freeze their laborious work. I put my face in the grass and smell the old and new that meet, right here and now.
7 -11 February / Woodpecker greatings
Suddenly, the rapidly bouncing sounds of the woodpeckers' different beaks can be heard making their way across meadows and forests. The high-pitched shrieks of the black woodpecker also break the silence. You can hear the trees responding with their muffled echoes in the forest. At dusk, the cries are heard before the moon hangs silent and alone.
2 – 6 February / Spring birds singing
I hear the spring birds and try to sing along with them. More and more birds are transitioning from winter song to exuberant spring song. Where are you my beloved?...it calls...now life begins...it calls...
28 January – 1 February / Walkable snow crust
This time is recognized thanks to the quality of the snow. Cold nights and warm days with sunshine make the snow crust harder and harder. Suddenly I can walk everywhere, I don't sink down through the snow cover. That's freedom!
22 – 27 January / A light in the dark
Just as dusk turns to darkness, I walk from the sauna up to the house where a window shines like a beacon. In the shelter of the lime trees, the Tawny owls begin to prepare for new life. Perhaps the hollow will be populated again in the spring?
16 – 21 January / Moonlit morning ice
Again it has been a few days of thaw and rain. The yard is turning to ice and I need my studded shoes to be able to move freely without slipping. The moon shines its way for me in the early morning.