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,...

New Email Subscription Service

Credit: ENGGtalks

Ecological Gardening has switched from Feedburner to follow.it. This is because Google has decided to let the email subscription portion of Feedburner lapse in July. Fortunately, I was able to make the switch in timely fashion and import my subscribers, who will get my posts with no interruptions. Follow.it offers subscribers a choice of delivery options besides straight email, which I think is pretty cool. 
 
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