Imbolc, also called Saint Brigid’s Day, is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint Brigid. It is held in early February, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (i.e. Cross-Quarter Day). Our ancestors (both of us) are western Europeans, many of whom were Celtic, Scottish or Irish. The actual day for Imbolc will be on the 3rd of February, but we’re going to start celebrating early by enjoying a weekend full of Celtic-like feasting.
First off, on Friday 01/31 we’re having Irish Beef Stew and Soda Bread. Then, on Saturday, it will be Irish Braised Chicken. On Sunday, it will be Corned Beef and Cabbage. I will come back to this post and put in links to the dishes we are preparing.
Compost Heap
In other developments, we seem to have lost our vermicomposting worms; they were in our outdoor compost bin behind the garage doing their thing, but when checking on them (which I apparently need to do more of), it did not appear that there were any active worms. So, just a while ago, I ordered 500 composting worms from Uncle Jim. They should be here in a few days.
One theory of why the worms are gone is that during our 2024 late summer and early fall, the daytime temperatures were usually in excess of 100°F. Since worms cannot survive in soil temperatures that exceed 85°F., we think that the increased soil temperatures might have done them in.
So, when the worms show up, we will stir up the compost heap and welcome them to their new digs. More on that later.