evening, the twelfth of april
dark furrow
old knowledge preserved
early spring
the soil warms. the light returns longer each day.
what was sleeping is not sleeping anymore.
late spring begins in 4 days.
cooling fast once the sun drops. a jacket you almost left behind.
the sun set around 6:24 pm.
the moon is waning crescent, 19% lit.
there were 12h 48m of daylight today. +2.2 minutes from yesterday.
the old dark furrowfills with rain and waits for warmthsomething stirs below
the worm moon is coming or just passed. some called this the crow moon, for the sound that breaks the silence at the end of winter. the sap moon, because the maples are running. the ground is unlocking. ❧ leeks and potatoes into a slow pot with thyme ❧ cleavers steeped fresh in cool water overnight. the old herbalists called it a spring cleanser. ❧ early spring foraging is mostly greens. the land is generous before the heat comes, offering what the body needs after a long winter of stored food.
the evening is for walking the rows and noticing what changed. ❧ a late snow in march was called a "poor man's fertilizer." the snow carries nitrogen from the atmosphere and works it into the soil as it melts. the old farmers welcomed it even as they cursed the cold. ❧ water now if the soil is dry. the night gives it time to soak. ❧ spring remedies are about waking up. the body has been indoors too long. bitter greens and sharp roots shake the dust off.
cleavers, the sticky sprawling weed. steep fresh as a spring tonic tea. ❧ the moon is in its last quarter. pull weeds, turn compost, cultivate the soil. this is a killing time, good for destroying what you do not want. the weeds will not come back as fast.