Waiting for Newcombville Nick

Almost Groundhog Day, or the Celtic festival of Imbolc, if you prefer. We had our "January Thaw" last week, when temperatures up to 7 degrees Celsius, plus rain followed by a lovely sunny day, took just the last snowfall's accumulation off the garden.

The sunny day was glorious, and mild enough to let the hens out of the coop for some fresh air and sunshine, and to have a wee bit of bare ground to scratch in. The "girls" were happy with the weather but I was apprehensive, hoping the thaw would be short-lived and that more snow would soon follow.

What, me crazy? No, just a desperate would-be lavender farmer praying that the freeze-thaw-rain-freeze cycle of last winter, which killed so many of my lavenders, would not be repeated. Happily, yesterday was a snowy day, a bit miserable with constant winds and gusts up to 70 kph, but enough drifting snow piled up to almost cover up all the lavender plants again.

Looks like we're in for a cold snap all week too, not that I need -17C wind chills, but at least I know the ground won't thaw for a while yet. So far winter has been pretty good, not severely cold but below freezing, consistent snow cover to protect the plants, no ice storms to damage trees, and not too windy.

Angus the dog has been loving the snow again and this year we're all having much more fun than last because he can now be left off the leash (and his "snow anchor") to romp freely, dig in the snow piles, eat the snow piles and lead us for happy walks down to the frozen pond in the woods. He leaps and bounds for joy when you say "Yes, we'll go to the pond!" and he stops and looks back to make sure we are following on the way. He has become a true companion, keeping me exercised as we navigate the narrow trail of our previous footprints down the logging road and back uphill again once or twice a day.

Every so often Angus will dash off the trail into the trees, tracking the hares no doubt, whose paw prints criss-cross the main path, back and forth and sometimes around in circles! Only twice have I caught sight of a snowshoe hare this season, when their white winter coat blends into the snow. One silently traversed the trail as I was pausing to listen to "Grandfather Hemlock" (my spirit tree), seemingly unaware that Angus was snuffling only moments behind him. And Angus was seemingly unaware how close he really was to Mr. Hare!

One warmer day as we passed the beehives on our way to the woods I noticed a number of bees on the surrounding snow, some still moving weakly, most dead. They were coming out one by one from the hole in the hive, flying a foot or so and then dropping. While it's normal for some to leave the hive on a warm day in winter, to relieve their waste for instance, I was concerned that something was wrong when it seemed so many lay dead on the ground. Not being the beekeeper in the family, however, I discovered later that sometimes it's just "a good day to die", and out they go. Overall the numbers were pretty small when you think of how many throusands inhabit a hive! It being our first year with bees we are just hoping we have done enough to help them make it through winter unscathed.

Speaking of the tiniest critters on the farm, Edward introduced me to some even tinier inhabitants of the woods one day when he said, "Look at the snow fleas!" At first I was simply incredulous thinking, "What is he trying to pull on me now?" But as I saw the little specks about the size of ground pepper start to jump around I got a bit panicked thinking we'd be covered in bites but for our multiple layers of warm clothing. As we trudged through deep snow under the pines, each footprint seemed filled with these leaping specks!

To my relief, when I Googled "snow fleas" upon our return home, I learned they were not actually fleas at all, and may not even be insects according to scientific classification, but are some other form of arthropod known commonly as a Springtail. To my relief they don't bite humans but do eat decaying organic matter, pollen, bacteria and other things, possibly consuming algaes that are in the snow under the trees. If that's not already more than you needed to know you can Google "snow fleas" for yourself!

What else is there to report? A front wheel fell of the tractor while Edward was plowing last week, necessitating a new hub and rim and fortunately no hospital visits! We're up to about 5 eggs a day from the hens if anyone wants some, all organic feed! And the fire in the wood stove burns hot on this bitter night, inducing great relaxation amongst Angus and the five cats who live in the house with us. The moon is full and bright and all is well on We Are One Farm.

Oh and as for this week's Groundhog Day, we're waiting to see if the one we have named Newcombville Nick (the groundhog we see poking his head out of a hole in the hillside across from the firehall) will see his shadow or not on Tuesday. Will it be six more weeks of Winter? Or only 45 days until Spring? Supposed to be sunny all week!

Oh and if you are interested in my Soul Coaching practice, please check out my Third Eye Soul Journeys site which also has it's own blog with a perhaps more "spiritual" and self-help bent, and also a newsletter subscription link.

Happy Imbolc!