Normally we would be tucking the kids into bed at this time but instead we bundled them up into their warm clothes and off we went.  We drove, literally, into the sunset (well we were going west but we could certainly see the sunset) as we headed off to our land.  Twilight was falling around us as we stomped onto our fields, finding the going easy in comparison to our last visits when the snow was knee deep in many places.  Even since Tuesday the snow had retreated to a few pockets lingering in the shadows of hedges and tree lines, turned blue by the dimming light.

The blue sky in the east deepened as the colour rose in the west, the orange, yellow and red holding firmly to the treetops creating a halo for the forest.  Our forest.  We walked around freely, the children heading to a now familiar pile of sticks and a handy jumping rock.  I reveled in the freedom the lack of snow gave, the tall grass and weeds have fallen under the weight of winter, creating a blanket across the still frozen land.  I could feel the ice still clinging firmly beneath my feet but the grasses give a feeling of spring.  I am beginning to imagine what this place will look like as the season turns from monochrome to fecund.

Huwyl was charged with the responsibility of holding The Big Torch and he bore it admirably, lighting the way as the last vestiges of the sinking sun clung in coloured wisps to the top branches of the trees.  But it was not the beautiful sunset we had come to witness, it was the rising moon.

Occurring only every 2-3 decades the ‘Supermoon’ appears 30% larger in the sky due to a shift in positioning.  With this phenomenon concurring with the equinox we knew where we needed to be.  Watching her golden face rise slowly above the hills and fields, framed only by the bare tree branches along the road, was a breathtaking sight.  Her benevolent smile glowed at us as we laughed in pleasure at the clear sight of her.  No houses blocked our view, no street lights tainted her light.  We stood in the increasing darkness and marveled at her beauty and in our joy at being there to witness this moment.

Standing in the place where we will make our home, the place that already offers us such joy and solace, we couldn’t help but feel that this light filled night was just for us.  Rising over the dawning spring she seemed pregnant with possibility, surveying her domain and seeming pleased to see our faces glowing up at her.  Like her we see a future full and bright, we see beyond this moment to delighted imaginings of what will be.  The darkening sky brought forth the light of the stars, each pinprick so much more visible than in town.   Despite the brightness of the moon’s face each one stood out clear, as if not to be outdone.  The children climbed sleepily into the car, ready for warmth and home and I knew I had to go too.  But I could not resist one more moment to soak it all in.  The tiny tint of colour above the forest, the blue-white stars firmly secured in their firmament, the glowing moon plump and heavy rising inexorably on the eastern horizon.  And I said the only words that I could think of to capture my feelings in that moment, a moment I will carry with me for as long as I can remember it.

I said “Thank you.”

A happy Ostara to one and all.