And for the 100th time..

In the great scheme of all things sacred, special or just plain silly, the 100th post on a weblog really doesn't rate up there. Well, here it is. Ta da! Not so special, certainly not sacred and one can only hope to achieve a little silly here and there!

~chasing sky in New Mexico~

All-in-all a complete waste of time really. Hello out there reader, how are you today? Are you cold, warm or wet where you live? Talking about the weather is a national pastime for us Brits, no matter where they live. The almanac fascination draws us in, whether it be to ponder the culminating cloud formation and what fabulous Latin name they may be accurately called or, relying on a less scientific methods of folk lore and dreaming up reasons to watch, wait and predict the coming few days. I've always been able to 'smell' rain in the air, (not very often around here) or lose myself in the very real sport of heaven watching!! Pulling over the car to watch clouds travelling fast in wind and spotting shapes or running to catch the last few mins of a stunning sunset before stars peek out, tornado hunting and playing with shadow characters are for me very lovely and real diversions from being a grown up.

Weather slang is truly worth some wasted time, as it not only relates to the meteorological names but also to old folk description's. One of my favourite's being the "There's no weather today" statement. Ya know, that day that's kind of a grey/white sky, not too cold or hot, no wind, humidity or rain. :-)

Winter sunset, Playa del Rey, Ca

Ok, so you get the picture of my ramblings...Candlemas and Groundhog Day are one and the same - February 2nd - and all to do with the weather.
Taken partially from the Old Almanac - The Celtic Candle mas celebrates days getting longer and Spring is not far off. Traditionally, the celebration anticipated the planting of crops, and forecasting of either an early spring or a lingering winter. Sunshine on Candlemas was said to indicate the return of winter. Similarly, "When the wind’s in the east on Candlemas Day / There it will stick till the second of May." A bear brought the forecast to the people of France and England, while those in Germany looked to a badger for a sign. In the 1800s, German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought their Candlemas legends with them. Finding no badgers but lots of groundhogs, or woodchucks, there, they adapted the New World species to fit the lore. Today that lore has grown into a full-blown festival, with Punxsutawney Phil presiding.

rolling across Tahoe

So, "What's in the garden", you ask? After much composting, digging, weeding and moving some things around, just before our annual spot of drizzle, the boys and I recently sowed, radishes; carrots; peas; onions; potatoes; broccoli; various herbs and flowers for companion planting and are in the midst of creating a new strawberry bed that I envision to be gloriously festooned with mountains of my favourites this Spring and Summer..ha ha ha ha ha!!!! We'll see if the heat destroys my attempts at a winter spread here in So Cal!

For a wonderful and easy way to plan your crops please visit The Old Farmers Almanac and customise the planting table for your area..

~my little garden plot of raised ceder beds ( last spring)~