January in the Garden
The start of this New Year brought snow, single-digit temperatures, and bitterly cold winds. The chickens stayed out of the wind in the coop or the part of the run blocked by the shed. We shut down the doors on the sheep barn to keep the waterers from freezing overnight. The cows and calves in the back pasture were brought inside, where little bovine legs didn’t have to wade through snow to get to their moms, and it was easier for farmers to provide food and supplementary bottles (for those adorable dun twins). A layer of manure has been quickly spread over the frozen ground while machinery can still access it.
In my garden, the dianthus and asters still sport green leaves close to the ground, but most other plants have succumbed to the colder temperatures. The feeders sit waiting to be refilled after about a million birds emptied them during the last snow. Meanwhile, the ground-dwelling species – the sparrows, juncos, and doves – scratch and peck around on the ground for seed that the greedy starlings and blue Jays have scattered.
Over the past few days, the temperatures have risen to near 50 F. The top layer of soil has turned into slick, slippery goo, with the ground below it still frozen solid. The pastures absorb the manure and melted snow from last week during a period of recovery from hooves and grazing. The chickens have enjoyed scratching in the soft bedding of their run and have dug a big hollow they like to sit in when it’s sunny. A platoon of plastic jugs sits awaiting winter sowing of seeds this week.
The days are getting longer, but it is still the dead of winter, despite this week’s teasing. The seasons change, but the transition to spring is slow and cannot be rushed.
Gentle Transformation – On the Inside
Unlike those who set New Year’s resolutions on the first day of January, this year I chose to use January to just be still and work on changing myself on the inside before I decide what I want to do on the outside. Inside changes during the winter reflect the releasing energy of the waning moon, and the inner work of the reversed Death card in tarot:
- the slow shedding of an old pattern in our lives
- an alteration of a reflex that must unwind in stages, through repetition
- the tending of a part of our psyche that is still learning, still integrating
- a change in the nervous system that needs time, not pressure, to occur
- the shifting of one’s identity that is happening cell by cell
During this inner, shadow work of the winter, just like the perennials and trees in our garden, we work on our “root system” – the part of our lives where slow, steady, seasonal change is the only kind that will hold. We unlearn such traits as over-achievement, over-commitment, and over-responsibility – the opposite of most New Year’s resolutions. Instead, we choose integration over implementation.
Reflection for Gentle Transformation
During this time, we reflect on our own gentle transformation.
- What small change is unfolding inside me?
- Where am I being asked to begin again?
- Where in my life does change need to happen gradually?
- What new direction is emerging quietly?
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