On this episode: murmurations, festivals and moon spotting as the days begin to stretch. As a dark month ends, find moments where the light gets in.
Welcome to my seasonal bulletin board.
The audio almanac is a bi-weekly round up of the seasonal changes that are currently happening in the UK. Each new episode comes out around a new or full moon. It contains a look at the flowers, birds, star and planet movements, weather patterns and festivals that are at play at a point in the year and draws out themes from them for you to contemplate.
For me, bearing witness to the cycle of the seasons brings a sense of connection to something bigger than myself, to something that moves through the world in predictable ways, following deep universal laws, when on a personal level life moves in ways that feel more scattered.
These episodes are designed to be part information dump and part reflection. I incorporate sounds that I have recorded from the world around me and explanations about how different phenomena work. Think of it as the two of us going for a walk through the woods - I will show you the things that I want you to notice, the things I have learned and the links I have seen between different things, in the hope that you can spot these things for yourself and find ways to breathe a little easier.
Links:
*Your guide to the planet parade: https://astronomyweek.org.uk/observing/
*The New Crescent Society: https://newcrescentsociety.org/
*How to spot the new crescent moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1gyiohXBCw&list=PLP0jFZR7JYsqCG3R_tG0wMGP0Fpq5DSmC
*The Selkirk Grace: Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be Thankit
Found Sounds on this episode:
*winds of storm eowyn
*drumming and bagpipe playing at a light night
*a questionable rendition of auld lang syne sung by me & my friends at new year
*birds on a winter walk
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:27 Grey Days and Storm Eowyn
01:03 The Days are Lengthening
01:59 Spot the Planet Parade
03:10 Light Nights and Burns Night
04:31 Sunrise and Sunset
05:22 Starling Murmurations
06:26 The New Moon and New Crescent Society
Transcript: https://perilunucy.substack.com/p/the-audio-almanac-02-glimmers-of-light
*a correction - I said in this episode that Robert Burns wrote the Selkirk Grace. He recited it famously many times, but it is more ancient than him and this is a common misattribution.
