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 March / Hazel blossom time
In the midst of the cold, she blooms at the top of a bud. So small that we wouldn't see her without looking carefully. Purple bursts against the spring sky give hope for a later harvest of nuts. The hazelnut related to so many of us on the site. Nutcracker, mouse, the squirrel and all the rest of us.
21 – 25 March / Cranes dance on snow-free meadows
Here they are again, the cranes. It's magical when we wake up early in the morning and their song echoes in waves across the lake. Once again, they have traveled far to find their way here, to our waiting meadows that are now free of snow. They dance.
15 – 20 March / The snowdrop and the newly awakened bee
The snowdrop and the newly awakened bee. In the middle of the snow, they can grow as the first important sign that spring is coming. For the bee, the snowdrop is an important one, the first flower they may encounter on their first flights. They need each other and we need them.