Marking the Seasons

Dear Diary,

My friend has an app on his smart phone that tells him which Japanese micro season it is.  There are 72 of them and they change every few days.  Today is the start of their 7th season, March 6 - 10, the season where "hibernating creatures open their doors."  These season designations originated in China but in 1685 they were re-written to more closely reflect the Japanese climate.

Here in Maine it is the "dirty snow season".  The frozen solid banks of snow along the road are dirt encrusted, not very appealing.  I noticed it when I went out to photograph the lovely tree shadow.  Soon we will enter the dreaded "mud, frost heaves and pot hole season".  Fortunately, it doesn't last too long. 

Sometimes in our daily rush we miss these subtle sub-seasons.  I'm not sure I could say we have 72 but certainly a lot more than 4.  An old joke is that Maine has only two seasons, winter and two months of poor sledding.  I think, with climate change, that is no longer true.  In fact, scientist say that if things continue the way they are going northern New England might lose their ski industry from lack of winter snow.  Now, that would be a sad season indeed.

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 3