Mole was busy cleaning his home when he caught a whiff of something in the air. Something pure. Something wonderful. Something that beckoned him to the out of doors.

It was spring.

Something above was calling him in the most demanding way, and he headed for
the steep little tunnel which was his house’s exit. He scraped and scratched, working
busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, “Up we go! Up we go!” until at last,
pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of
a great meadow. – The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Ah, I know little Mole’s desire to leave the confines of four walls and heed the call of spring.

The joy of living and the delight of spring made him jump into the
air…

I did my share of jumping today.

Well, maybe not jumping but I did take Harlee for what I’ll call a Farewell to Winter walk. We listened to the birds singing, checked out the little green shoots peeking out of the softening earth, peed on some of them (Harlee did the peeing, I stood and watched), and inhaled the scent of the approaching season.

Now I know that spring in New England isn’t all mild temperatures and sunshine.

But no matter, it’s still spring which means flowers are coming my way…

along with humidity, gnats, yellow jackets, and black flies… (I’m hyperventilating — give me a sec.)

Ahhhhhh, bluebirds always calm my raging pulse.

Where was I? Oh, yes, spring, or for those of us who follow the craft, Ostara, the Vernal Equinox, a time for new beginnings.

Ways to celebrate Ostara include:

• Starting seeds for a vegetable or flower garden
• Feeding the birds
• Buying a bouquet of flowers and giving them to an elderly neighbor
• Taking a walk and looking for signs of spring
• Baking an egg-based delight like Ostara cakes (see recipe below)
• Meditating
• Setting intentions for the season
• Coloring eggs and sharing them with friends
• Cleaning your living space
• Stretching your arms and singing at the top of your lungs

There are loads of ways to celebrate. Let your imagination break free like pussy willows breaking out of their casings.

Truly, this is a time of year to celebrate. I know things are hard for so very many of us; we struggle with money issues, depression, illness, death…it can be too much to take sometimes. That’s why we need to stop and breath.

Stop and listen.

Stop and smell.

Stop and taste.

Stop and feel.

Stop and be here in the present moment, not tomorrow, not next week, but ‘now’.

Because ‘now’ is all we have.

I’ll share a ‘now’ moment with you. While walking with Harlee I kept my ears open for the call of the Pileated Woodpecker. You see, it’s been 10 years since I’ve seen a Pileated and last week, when Harlee and I were walking on Old Middlesex Turnpike, we saw a Pileated banging at a dead pine tree in the woods. I hadn’t had my camera with me so I missed out on getting a picture. but I had it with me today and I was determined to get a picture.

Sadly, no luck.

No Pileated Woodpecker.

No biggie.

The day moved forward and I worked at cleaning the leaves and sticks from my gardens and sighing with delight at the sight of the new growth I uncovered.

While I had my focus on the ground guess what happened?

Yup, the Pileated Woodpecker came to me!!

I ran into the house and…

I finally got my picture.

I know it’s not the best picture, give me a break; he was up in a very tall tree (30 feet or so) and my hands were shaking (not from excitement but because I had been raking for a couple of hours). Who cares, right? I got a picture and he stayed around for a bit, showing off his dope red feather cap.

So cool.

Here’s a link to Cornell’s info on Pileated Woodpeckers.

Sooooo very cool.

Aside from some computer issues this was a pretty dope first day of Spring.

Here’s the Ostara recipe I promised you. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing.

Shhhhh.

Listen.

Do you hear them?

Here they come!

Ahhhhhh.

Blessed be :}

Mi manchi, mia amata immortale.