As soon as the Winter has peaked, the Earth energy shifts. The need to bud and send out shoots has a palpable urgency. The hardiest woody buds of trees are shrugging off their dormancy, shifting biochemistry, remixing their carbohydrate cocktails in preparation for the Imbolc explosion. See likewise, the tips of leaf and flower stalks breaking through the leaf litter. When we see these signs of life in two weeks time and thank Briget for the turning year, remember that the Green World has spent all Winter in silent preparation.
These signs would have given our ancestors renewed hope that they would survive the darkness and be ready to live again with the green growth of Spring and the promise of future harvest.
The buds of tree species are distinctive and are useful when identifying trees. They are also nutrient rich and it’s worth pursuing a study of their edibility and culinary potential.
DNB Jan 26
the Crows Nest 
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