Reflection from the hoop house door as the cold and storms rolled in.
Happy First Day Of Spring! We had such a great week of sun and green on the AIF farm with all the promise and hope that light and warmth brings. That lasted right up until Friday, our one designated day of the week to come together and work 🤦🏽‍♀️ Ah, you sneaky little thing, you-Spring. Friday’s blustery winds and random rains drove the team inside, where we spent some time learning more about the process and benefits of compost. We will share what we are learning in coming posts. (Could I possibly get one of my coworkers to pen a blog? We shall see..)
This very predictable but always shocking (am I alone in this?) change in weather gets me every year. I crave the consistent heat on my skin and the bright skies that greet me in the morning in an almost desperate kind of way. So when the temp drops (I see you lows for the night this weekend), I get discouraged. This year, I thought I would take the proverbial bull by the horns and see if a little good ole fashioned research could help me build a bit of resilience and patience within the season.
I recall my grandparents and great grandparents tsk tsking if they saw a neighbor trying to get a jump start on their season. The audacity of planting before blackberry winter or setting seeds when the song of the Whippoorwill arrived was akin to showing up at the potluck empty handed. What in the tar hill were they talking about? This is what I found about the phenomenon, both the natural and cultural one, of Little Winters in the hills of Tennessee.
Redbud Winter: The first of these sneaky little tricksters. Occurs Mid-March to early April when those gorgeous trees remind us that all things come back to life in nature and that we need to get back on our allergy meds.
Dogwood Winter: Mid to late April when, you guessed it, the dogwoods are in bloom. Apparently those white blooms bring a heavy and hard frost that can really nip you in the bud. (See what I did there?)
Blackberry Winter: Early to mid-May when these bushes are in full bloom. Hard to be angry at this one because fresh blackberries are soooo gooooooddddd.
Whippoorwill Winter: Mid to late-May when these little songbirds greet us at the two twilights with their chirping.
And, wait for it, my favorite simply because the name is epic:
Cotton Britches Winter or Linsey Woolsey Winter: Late May or early June when the farmers could shed those warmer layers and put on their lighter cotton pants for the season. In all truth, I had never heard of this one, but I am actually looking forward to it this year just to share my knowledge and say Cotton Britches as many times as possible.
*All of this is based on historical data and the dates have probably moved up by a few weeks due to climate change.
Ah, this was fun. I might make it all the way through this spring now without irritation…well, how about with less irritation. That’s a more reasonable goal.
You can learn more and even hear the song of the Whippoorwill via the Tennessee Historical Society.
What did you call these Little Winters growing up?
Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY SPRING!