Winter Notes: These Cross-Quarter Days

February 3: Cross-quarter days  We’ve gotten past about the longest January I think I can remember. The cold, the snow, the dreadful events impossible for any decent person to turn away from. The resultant grief. Offering support to those caught in this vortex of cruelty and violence visited on so many by the government is necessary—and somehow not enough. And yet. Just the other day I noticed that it was still light at 5 pm. Surprise! The dark post-solstice January pause is over; suddenly we’re at the cross-quarter days.  I say days advisedly: we are halfway between the solstice and the spring equinox, but measurement, like everything else I’ve ever heard of, depends on your perspective. Time, day and season depend on where you are, which calendar you use, even which astronomical calculations. St. Brigid's day is February 1,  and Groundhog Day is, of course, February 2, as is Candlemas. These are based on the Gregorian calendar, and are not quite the same as Imbolc,...

Guest Post at Beautiful Wildlife Garden

Carole Brown, at Beautiful Wildlife Garden, has put up a guest post I wrote about reconciliation ecology and its importance as a first principle for gardeners. I feel honored to have been invited to post at such a well-known and popular blog. You can find "Reconciliation Ecology and the Beautiful Wildlife Garden" here.

Comments

Gail said…
Loved it Adrian, gail
Don Plummer said…
Congratulations on being a guest blogger!

Tallamy's book is one of my favorites, too. I got to meet him last year. He was the keynote speaker at the Ohio Botanical Symposium. I would have loved to have him as a teacher.
Hi Don,

Lucky you. He has really popularized native plant gardening.
Anonymous said…
Adrian, I was delighted to see your guest post earlier today at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. Like all your posts, it was thoughtful and so well written. I am in the middle of reading Tallamy's book and finding it very engrossing. -Jean
hi Jean,

Thanks. Yes, Tallamy's book puts everything in such good perspective. I really like the pictures, too.