The End of Winter

Early February marks the end of winter in many seasonal and lunar-based calendars of the world. In Japan, February 3rd is called Setsubun, the separation of the seasons. Yesterday, my husband followed the tradition of his father by throwing roasted soybeans out the front door (and into the neighbor's parking area) while shouting "Demons out!!" Then he stood outside and threw the soybeans into the house, while shouting, " Good fortune in!!!" I stood there and giggled happily.

Still, winter has not completely released its grip even though the plums and narcissus are starting to bloom. There aren't enough blossoms open yet to support the nectar-drinking birds, (bulbul and white-eye) who wake me up with expectant shrieks and soft chittering, prodding me to get going on the daily mandarin orange donations that tide them over during sparse times.

The coming spring tide has also released the tensions of the earth in the form of an ongoing volcanic eruption in the south of Japan. During winter here on the Kanto plain I am constantly reminded that the soil beneath my feet is volcanic in nature, gifted by the past eruptions of Mt. Fuji.
Shimobashira, or frost pillars, form nightly as the moisture in the earth freezes, lifting the powdery volcanic deposits up into bio-film-like platforms that crunch and collapse with each footstep at dawn.