Spring Has Sprung

 The Vernal/Spring Equinox was yesterday, according to my diary, the moment with equal hours of daylight and darkness so whether you think Spring starts on the 1st of March or at the Equinox, either way..............it's definitely here.

Spring has sprung

The grass has riz

I wonder where the birdie is? 

The birdie is upon the wing,

No, that's absurd

The wing is on the little bird

This is the segment from the wheel of the year for Spring from my book 'Ceremonies of the Seasons'.

 

 The day was once known as Ostara, The Pagan festival celebrating Eostre, Saxon or Germanic Goddess of Spring. There is a story that Eostre found a wounded bird and to save it's life she turned it into a hare, but even though the bird looked like a hare it was still able to lay eggs.As a thank you to the goddess the hare decorated the eggs and gave them to her as gifts. Eostre was often depicted as having a hare's head on a human body. 

In folklore there are so many stories of hares being magical creatures

 The dry sunny weather expected here for this week bodes well...................

A peck of dust in March is worth a kings ransom

A dry March is  said to be especially good for clay soils and would mean good crops and once it was said that dusty roads in March benefited the country..........that was before tarmac of course although I followed a crop sprayer along the main road on Saturday and there was plenty of dust coming off his huge wheels!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

 

March Country Days

1st March, St David's Day The Patron St of Wales. The start of meteorological spring and this year also Shove Tuesday or Pancake day. I bought a lemon last week to be able to have proper old-fashioned pancakes today.............none of those modern or foreign ideas like chocolate spread, strawberries or maple syrup for this old Suffolk Country Gal!

 

17th...........St Patrick's Day. Patron Saint of Ireland 

 

20th........ Vernal Equinox, the start of Astronomical spring and Ostara, The Pagan festival celebrating Eostre, Goddess of Spring. 

 

25th..........Lady Day

 

27th Change the clocks and Mothering Sunday too

 

The Saxons called it Lentmonat, or lengthening month, because of the equinox and lengthening of days and this is the origin of the word Lent. By the end of the month there will be two extra hours of daylight and we change clocks to BST on the the 27th, which is also Mothering Sunday.

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Everyone knows this rhyme

March winds and April showers

Bring forth May flowers.

Also.....................March month of many weathers 

 

In one book I have is this rhyme, explaining the first three Saints of March. Although neither Chad or Winneral get a mention in my Calendar of Saints book. The rhyme is thought to explain the windy weather often through the month.

First comes David

Then comes Chad

Then comes Winneral

As though he were mad

 

As promised, here is another gorgeous Spring illustration from the book ' A Sparrows Life's as Sweet as Ours'

 Rooks this time. I expect almost every village in the country has or had a Rookery Farm. As the trees at the top of out smallholding field gradually got taller through the 23 years we were there, the rooks moved in and there would be half a dozen nests each spring.

I found this poem written for children

The Rooks

 

The rooks are building on the trees;
They build there every spring:
‘Caw, caw,’ is all they say,
For none of them can sing.

They're up before the break of day,
And up till late at night;
For they must labour busily
As long as it is light.

And many a crooked stick they bring,
And many a slender twig,
And many a tuft of moss, until
Their nests are round and big.

‘Caw, caw.’ Oh, what a noise
They make in rainy weather!
Good children always speak by turns,
But rooks all talk together.

 

by  Jane Euphemia Browne 1811 - 1898

 

 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Spring

In the Northern Hemisphere the Vernal or  Spring Equinox happens today and at 21.58, according to my diary, astronomically Spring begins. The word vernal comes from the Latin vernare, meaning to bloom.
This book was donated to the charity shop this week and I snapped it up because of the illustrations.

This is the page for the Spring Equinox, showing the wheel of the year

 Ostara  was the pagan festival celebrating Eostre, a Saxon goddess and gives us the words East and Easter. She is often depicted as having a hare's head on a human body.

The Year's at the spring,

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in His heaven.......

All's right with the world!

Robert Browning 

To welcome spring I have these lovely tulips....................... a draw prize win at small WI.

If you choose  the flowers and vase (a horrible metal thing.....ooops controversial! - prefer my jug!) for your draw prize there is a catch, as I now have to take the vase back with flowers for a draw prize at next months meeting!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

Yesterday..............................

......................at some time,  was the minute when day and night are of equal length...............The Spring Equinox.

I forgot.

So a day late............. Happy Ostara or Eostre......the name comes from a Saxon Spring Goddess..

Little is known about Eostre but according to my Country Wisdom and Folklore Diary...................

The story goes that Eostre found a wounded bird. To save it's life, she transformed it into a hare but even though the bird took the appearance of a hare it retained the ability to lay eggs. As thanks to the goddess the hare decorated the eggs and gave them as gifts to her.

When Christianity arrived Eostre became Easter and decorated eggs have been given as a gift for hundreds of years.

I prefer chocolate to hard-boiled!
 

Thank you for comments yesterday

Back Tomorrow
Sue

March Days

 Some of the March pages from the Country diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

 In the Roman calendar March,or Martius, was the first month of a new year. The month was named after Mars, the god of war and the guardian of agriculture. March was the month when both farming and warfare could begin again after winter.

The Saxons called it Lentmonat, or lengthening month, because of the equinox and lengthening of days and this is the origin of the word Lent.

There are many weather sayings,  the best known is

March winds and April showers

Bring forth May flowers.

Also.....................So many fogs in March, so many frosts in May 

Dry days are precious to get seeds sown.................A peck of dust in March is worth a king's ransom

When farm workers were paid partly in cider then a good apple harvest was important, and early blossom was a problem

If apples bloom in March

In vain you'll for them search

If apples bloom in April

Why then they'll be plentiful;

If apples bloom in May

You may eat them night and day.

There are many special days this month

1st .......St David's Day and the first day of meteorological spring

11th .........Mothering Sunday

17th...........St Patrick's Day

20th........ Vernal Equinox, the start of Astronomical spring and the pagan celebration of Ostara

25th..........Lady Day and Palm Sunday

30th........ Good Friday

We had lots of snow overnight Tuesday and off and on all day yesterday. We didn't have to go anywhere so stayed in the warm, fed the birds and watched the weather.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

Another Jug..........Now How Did That Happen..............

Early Sunday morning I had to go to Number 9 to see if the boiler service receipt was in the draw with cooker instructions and other things left for the new owners. The buyers solicitors said that I'd only included a 2015 service report, I'm sure I sent the 2016 one to our solicitors, but luckily had kept a copy of the receipt.
On the way back I "happened" to call in at our nearest car boot sale which has just restarted after the winter

 Not many booters there yet but I came away with these and yes, that is another little jug. Interestingly this one, which was £1, says "Tonquin" Staffordshire  Dinnerware  by Clarice Cliff on the base but its very unlike the bright geometric designs normally associated with Clarice Cliff ,  just a pink and white pastoral scene,transfer printed. Also in the picture a big punnet of mushrooms for £1, more Sudoku books for 50p each, Mangetout seeds 50p each and old book from the 1920s also 50p and in the front a new padded gilet/waistcoat for me to wear when working outside also a 50p bargain.


Did you know Ostara or Eostre is one of the names given to the Vernal or Spring Equinox. Named after a goddess of spring and new life and presumably turning into Easter as Christianity spread.
That was yesterday, which was not at all spring-like.Grey and windy in the morning and pouring rain in the afternoon. Before it rained I managed to finish the last bit of weeding on the soft fruit bed so it's all ready for planting the gooseberry bushes when they arrive.
Col went online to source some Niger seed and suet fat balls for the birds and with the order came a plant catalogue. Now I'm seriously tempted by their offer of  "spend £25 and get a lemon tree for £1.99". I could get an apricot tree, or 2, like we had at the smallholding. So deliciously tempting!


Back Soon
Sue