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.
5 – 9 November / Naked tree
Then suddenly the trees are completely bare again. All the leaves have fallen, the last ones on a windy night. The view gets bigger, everything becomes visible that is otherwise hidden in a green sea of leaves. It awakens the clarity within me. It is as if the thought wants to reach further out. Maybe that's why autumn, moving towards winter, is such a perfect time for reflection?
31 October – 4 November / Pearly sky
It is a special relationship we have with the sky when we live with this wonderful view. Every day is different. Sometimes the horizon is grey and still as a pencil drawing sometimes dramatically wild and at this particular time it is like mother of pearl. Pink and blue shimmering like a poetic greeting from eternity.
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.