The Daily: 25 March 2024

Lady Day March 25th is Lady Day. This is another Marian holiday which incorporated older pagan traditions — in this case the New Year celebrations which fell on 25 March before Julius Caesar shifted the Roman observance to the beginning of January. Lady Day is nine months before December 25th, so you can probably figure… Continue reading The Daily: 25 March 2024

The Daily: 24 March 24

The view out my back door yesterday... The fifth moon of my solar year is the Sap Moon. It is new between 24 February and 24 March, full between 10 March and 7 April. This is a period of rapid change. The Sap Moon rarely sees the same weather from year to year. When it’s early… Continue reading The Daily: 24 March 24

The Daily: 22 March 2024

World Water Day is 22 March 2024. This annual observance was organized by the United Nations in 1993 to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and to promote sustainable freshwater management. Each year a different theme is chosen, centered on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. The theme for 2024 is Water… Continue reading The Daily: 22 March 2024

The Daily: 18 March 2024

Mothering Sunday Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent, which was yesterday. In much of the Medieval world, but particularly in the British Isles, the rules of fasting were loosened for a day of refreshment leading into the last weeks of Lent. There were also gatherings to honor mother churches, the place where the… Continue reading The Daily: 18 March 2024

The Daily: 17 March 2024

Today is... the equinox? Vernal Equinox Quiz True or False: The vernal equinox is when spring begins. Not exactly. The beginning of spring depends on where you live, and it is more a cultural phenomenon than a meteorological one. Tradition in Ireland has spring beginning with St Brigid’s Day on 1 February. Spring weather may… Continue reading The Daily: 17 March 2024

The Daily: 12 March 2024

The storm that was not supposed to be a storm ended up dumping over a foot of snow on Central Vermont. My son's town had no power for eight hours on Sunday. Many rural locations did not have power until Monday evening. There were blips all weekend, knocking the electricity out which knocks out computer… Continue reading The Daily: 12 March 2024

The Daily: 11 March 2024

The Hunger Moon went dark at 5am yesterday morning. Today the Sap Moon is a thin crescent on the western horizon. It is the middle of spring. But for all this weather... But maybe that is the point of spring. Maybe it's our ideas that are unseasoned. Humans celebrate the vernal equinox with stories of… Continue reading The Daily: 11 March 2024

The Daily: 10 March 2024

The last moon of winter, the Snow Moon, went dark today at 5am. In acknowledgment of the spring sun's rising earlier and earlier — 6:12am in my town yesterday — those who follow Daylight Savings Time have had an hour removed from their morning today at 2am. This morning's sunrise is 7:10am, meaning we've lost… Continue reading The Daily: 10 March 2024

The Daily: 1 March 2024

Lion and Lamb March is upon us once again. An Old English name for March was Hlyda, meaning “loud”, presumably referring to the roaring March winds. This name survived as Lide in the West countries.  Eat leeks in Lide and ramsons in May, And all the year after physicians may play. — proverb from western… Continue reading The Daily: 1 March 2024

The Daily: 26 February 2024

To underline Friday's assertion that everything is falling apart, perhaps led by our economy, in his weekly news summary, Justin at ClimateandEconomy.com shared links to two hypertension-provoking articles. Both were written and published by what we would normally consider conservative experts, those who are more inclined to cheer-lead despite all evidence to the contrary than… Continue reading The Daily: 26 February 2024