In the season finale of the Culinary Saijiki podcast, I talked with Mark Scott of Naturalist Weekly, which was one of my favorite blogs of 2022. In the conversation, I had the idea of spending 2023 investigating the micro-seasons around me. I decided that since I wanted to find a way to write more consistently in this space, I would make that my project for 2023.
Of course, the first month of the year is nearly over, and I’ve yet to get started! In part that’s because I’m balancing a full-time job, finishing my Pilates training, and my other haiku endeavors. But there was another challenge: it became clear to me that the micro-seasons Mark describes in his blog would have been developed over many years of watching and observing. An awareness of micro-seasons would also require one to be intimately familiar with the flora and fauna of their locale.
Having lived in Missouri for just over six months, neither of these things are particularly ingrained in my consciousness.
However, each of Mark’s blog entries ends with an invitation related to the micro-season that he is exploring. My plan is to use those to guide my explorations and writing for the course of the year. That will give me not just an opportunity for fresh poems, but also a way to help me connected to the geography of my new home. I look forward to seeing what transpires!
Poetry and Practice 
Hi Allyson, Thanks so much for the mention and I am looking forward to seeing how this project evolves. I recently came across this project in the UK where the community got together to see if the seasons as they are written worked for them, and if not how might they change them. It seems like a pretty cool project with data collection and an artist creating visual representations of the “new” seasons. Check it out if you are interested. http://www.theevaluator.co.uk/72-seasons/
I am pretty sure the North American House Hippo is a kigo for all seasons! However, if they are covered in snow, it is winter. If they are covered in mud, it is summer. I hope all is well!
LikeLike