Looking for Spring
Happy March, friend!
Initially, I had a little bit of writer’s block about what I wanted to share this month. Living in Northern New England means that the hints of spring’s arrival this time of year are much more subtle than the Marches I grew up with in Southern California. They were mostly sunny with crisp, cool mornings and clear warm days. The charm and feelings of spring renewal were always abundant, marked with anticipation for the springtime arrival of the distinctive (and messy) purple blooms on the jacaranda trees that line the streets of my little hometown. Here in New Hampshire, the signs of spring require a sharper eye, and can feel fleeting if old man winter decides to interject a few more wintry days in between the milder ones. Which is often the case, leading to frequent dreary wet days, or sloppy and slushy snow storms. Early spring this far north is truly a transitional season that generally lasts from now until the end of April.
The last few weeks of wondering what to write about left me feeling like maybe there wasn’t much to observe, or celebrate, in New England this time of year. Aside from the symbolic celebrations associated with the spring equinox, I considered that maybe spring is just waiting out the end of winter. Then, a casual look out my bedroom window and my eye caught burgeoning leaf buds dotted along the branches of several trees. A few days later, sitting at my desk before the rest of the house was awake, I heard several birds singing bubbly and playful springtime melodies. The first of the season. I looked out to see them fluttering in and around the birch trees along our driveway. Gentle, yet pointed, reminders that spring is slowly beginning to take hold. The squirrels and chipmunks even seem to be out to play in greater numbers in the last week or so.
But really, this quote from The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms by Fiona Cook and Jessica Roux, is maybe my favorite reminder of what it looks like when spring is on her way:
“Ostara is the season of buds, not blossoms. It’s a yawn: a big, full-body stretch and a wiggling of the toes as the world warms up and gets ready to come alive. Ice is melting; the hard frozen ground begins to thaw. It’s a time of softening and loosening. We made it through the darkest days of Winter. Now, we crack a window to clear out the stale air and let in the fresh breeze.”
While the beginning of March is still technically winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s only a few more weeks before we officially welcome spring. I started celebrating the spring equinox with my children years ago as part of our homeschool science lessons, and found that I loved how much closer it brought us to nature. If you follow the Wheel of the Year, the spring equinox is also referred to as Ostara, and is celebrated in much the same way as Easter, without the Christian influences of course. My chosen family and I will celebrate Ostara together, probably with a potluck and a craft while the children refuse to eat and run around laughing and enjoying the freedom that comes when the parents are relaxed and more lenient with the everyday rules.
The symbolism for many springtime celebrations revolve around the waking Earth and planting seeds. In both the literal and metaphorical sense. There also tends to be an emphasis on the earliest springtime flowers as well as the observance of animals, sometimes with young born over the winter, emerging from their hibernation. And just like in Easter, eggs and rabbits, tend to be prominent and important symbols of new beginnings and the fertility of the season. Dyeing eggs, making an herbed frittata or deviled eggs are all excellent ways to bring that energy into your spring celebrations. Plastic eggs or making paper craft eggs for decorations are also popular and acceptable alternatives, especially with the bird flu affecting the price and demand of eggs this year.
In place of a recipe or formal ritual this month, I thought I might leave a little challenge: in what ways can you find or appreciate spring where you live? Journal or take pictures, but more importantly, try to revel in the small joys that this season of growth and renewal brings.
While finding a green space might seem like the most obvious way to observe the changing seasons, not everyone has easy access to them and frankly it isn’t necessary. If you live in a more rural area, finding the natural signs of spring, like suddenly more active animals or the earliest spring flowers pushing up from the warming soil is easy. But if you live in a city or don’t have easy access to a natural space, the signs of spring might require a more creative approach. The longer days might have you naturally waking before your alarm, you might notice that the jacket you left your house with in the morning is forgotten by midday. Your desire for the hearty, warming meals of winter might be replaced with a craving for something lighter and fresher, and maybe the grill will be dragged out a shed or garage for an excuse to enjoy the longer evenings outside. One of my favorite signs is when the tender, thinner stalks of asparagus start arriving in the grocery stores, it’s especially exciting if they are also on sale! Oxalis clover plants start to show up in stores around St. Patrick’s Day and small pots of herbs might be more abundant all around. Maybe there’s another, lesser thought of, spring association you have. Perhaps there’s just a sense of something intangible that lifts you up. Lean into, and appreciate the small signs you come across.
Whatever it is, I’d love to read about it in the comments or post it and tag me on Instagram!
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