Spring in Chicago

 

This is Chicago, so winter can linger here. Sleet and snow are still possible tomorrow, or next week, and even  in March and April. 

But already,  there are early signs of spring---

buds on the branches of the hickory tree!

crocuses coming up in the yards!

geese in a line flying north!

The Chicago Auto Show, paczkis for Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday, potted tulips at Walgreens. 

And amid news of basketball and hockey, there's first reports of Spring Training baseball.  

Pitchers and Catchers Report!  Those four words in the gray days of winter--you can almost smell the green grass, feel the warm sun and blue sky---everything is new again...

This is spring in Chicago---buds on the branches, baseball on the radio.

The Last Full Moon of Winter

 

 Midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox now.  We have gained more than an hour of daylight since the winter solstice.  

Sun on melting snow, today, and buds on the bare branches.   We are so ready for signs of spring.
Stores are stocked with cut flowers and potted tulips, bright-colored orchids for Valentines Day.  

If the night sky is clear, you might be able to see the green comet--- a brighter sight in February than in January.

And the full moon rising now is like a beacon in the winter sky. It is the last full moon of meteorological winter. It has many names--the Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Bone Moon. These would be fitting names for the February moon.  There would be snow, maybe lots  of snow.  Food would be scarce at this time.  

Native tribes also had other names for this last full moon of winter.  According to the Old Farmers' Almanac---

"Names for this month’s Moon have historically had a connection to animals. The Cree traditionally called this the Bald Eagle Moon or Eagle Moon. The Ojibwe Bear Moon and Tlingit Black Bear Moon refer to the time when bear cubs are born. The Dakota also call this the Raccoon Moon, certain Algonquin peoples named it the Groundhog Moon, and the Haida named it Goose Moon."

 

These are the animals of winter. Imagine a sunny day in February, eagles and geese in the blue sky. But they are also signs of changing season,  groundhogs  and raccoons breaking hibernation, and bear cubs born for the spring.