The Robin Snow - February 2, 2010

We've celebrated "Groundhog Day," Imbolc and Candlemas in the past few days - all dates which our ancient ancestors regarded in one way or another as the end of winter and the beginning of spring … I like the folklore of Imbolc which describes the first of February as the day of "Middle Earth," the time when seeds deep in the heart of the earth begin to stir and germinate; it is the very first harbinger of Spring … when the Goddess Brigid (who's feast is held on Imbolc) urges Winter to wake from his long dark sleep and enjoy the first sweet breezes of Spring.

I was lamenting the fact this morning that I had no bonfire this year, not even a candle to light. I did find a very old box of candles in the antique store where I play shop keeper on the weekends, and the printed label indicated they were sanctified for the "Day of Purification," which is the Christian Candlemas. I didn't buy them, and this morning I was wishing that I had, imagining them burning softly, held by a pair of new candle holders from the Yule. As I mused on the candles, I was urged back to reality by the cheerful singing of a Robin, just outside my window. I watched him for just a moment, enjoying the song he offered up from his snow covered perch.
In my childhood, my grandmother always said that the snow that fell after the first Robin's song meant that two more snows would fall before spring. She called it the "Robin Snow." A sure sign of spring, and my first Robin appearing outside my window at the time of Imbolc seems to reinforce that bit of weather folklore. I'm not sure whether this Robin sang before the snowfall which has left the current covering on the ground, but I'm going to pretend that he was here before the snow.

This Mother Goose nursery rhyme will help me remember to keep feeders full for the birds until the last frosty snow is well past.

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then,
Poor thing ?

He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!

From "The Real Mother Goose"

My Danish friend, who writes my favorite blog (A Polar Bear's Tale) shared this picture of tiny Dormice (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-484170/Dozing-dormice-set-alarm-spring.html) this morning, and I'm going to borrow it to share the second half of the Mother Goose rhyme about the "snow robin.'

copyright Connors

The North Wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will the dormouse do then? Poor thing!
Roll'd up like a ball, in his nest snug & small,
He'll sleep till warm weather comes in. Poor thing!

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is a member of the thrush family, and is common in most regions of the United States during the summer months. Sometimes called the North American Robin, he is not the same species as the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) which is much smaller and thought to be a member of the Flycatcher family.

North American Robin

European Robin

The European Robin is often called "The Christmas Robin" in the UK because so many of the colorful little birds migrate to the British Isles for the winter months. He is the subject of nursery rhymes and many myths, including a legend which explains that he got his red breast from a drop of Christ's blood which fell on him as he removed a thorn from Jesus' brow.