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 June – 1 July / Toddlers out of the nest
Little ones grow up. Chicks grow and start to leave the safe nest. The barn owlets suddenly on night sit on the roof of the barn and scream for food. Magpie's babies squabble in noisy play. The White wagtale babies wag their tails as they play play hide and seek on the lawn. The deer fawn is out on a hike with mom. Everything is ripening and on its way .
21 – 25 June / Pink-blue shimmering evenings
The summer heat during the day gives the evening a special shine. It does something to my eyes when I look into the pastel-colored sky. Forgotten summer memories from childhood wrap around my heart and I smile at the sunset
15 – 19 June / Abundance everywhere
We are approaching the Swedish Midsummer Eve on June 21, when we tie flower garlands to decorate the Midsummer pole. It's like a river of plants in the meadows, everything sort of blooms at the same time and every year we say the same thing: There probably won't be any flowers left on Midsummer Eve..but there will be and we rejoice.
10 – 14 June / Tawny owlets cries for food
We put up a birdhouse för owls and then one June day four years ago we heard exciting sounds from our so-called Linden church - a collection of trees forming a large room. We couldn't recognize the sounds we heard but then we realized it was the owlets screaming for food and the adult birds flying in and out. We crept in and everything went quiet. We sat very still for a long time and then, on the branch we suddenly saw them. Over the years a new family has gathered in the birdhouse and now, during this micro season,
4 – 9 June / Black flies and Dragonflies
Rain and the moisture bring out the tiny little bloodsuckers. They come in droves. It stings and itches. If you stay outside for too long, it feels like they've got into your ears, under your eyelids and under your skin. When the sun shines, the dragonfly hovers and its wings glitter like gold in the sunlight. Black flies (Simuliidae ) are food for dragonflies (Odonata) and other animals. The circle is complete.
30 May – 3 June / Flowering breakfast
Now begins the most wonderful time when all sorts of edibles can be collected from the site. In the morning, a smoothie as rich as possible including many different species. Here: Ladys´s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris), Water avens (Geum rivale), Bitter vetch (Lathyrus linifolius), Red clover (Trifolium pratense), Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria), Wild chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris), Sorell (Rumex acetosa), White currant leafs (Ribes rubrum), Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) blended with frozen Raspberries (Rubus idaeus), Brassica oleracea var. italica and Green pie (Pisum sativum subsp. sativum) from last year.