Our Fabled Nest

As Mama Nature awakes from her winter sleep, the world begins to softly buzz again. I love waking to the sounds of birds chirping on early late winter early spring mornings. I love rush of the cool air on early morning walks but love the warmth of the sun beckoning me out of my sweater by midday. Nights disappear, mornings become darker, but our evenings are spent in the fresh evening sunlight and warm air. It’s beautiful. Hot cup of coffee while the kiddos play in the mornings and picnics in the late afternoon sun. Spring welcomes all that I adore about nature.

Spring Equinox, or Ostara is my second favorite holiday. My heart will always belong to the autumn harvest festivals. But with spring on the horizon, I love watching the earth arise after the long winter slumber. Seeing bees buzzing about, butterflies gracefully fluttering by, and feeling the earth bursting with new growth and beauty abounds. It really is spectacular to watch the earth come alive. We chose to celebrate Ostara, not Easter. As a child, I did celebrate easter; I actually have many fond memories of either church services, easter baskets full of candies and toys and bountiful meals with my gram, pop and my folks. As an adult, with my own thoughts, my beliefs no longer lie there. I am not here to argue my beliefs nor argue what is right or wrong. That is neither here nor there. We all have something we believe in and that’s okay. This blog is for celebrating adventures. Adventuring, for us, is life. It’s parties, holidays (both “normal” and those not so well known), hikes, food, dates, and the mundane. It’s how we chose to live so, please stick around and see how we made Ostara festive!

I’d like to start off with how Easter came from Ostara and all of the similarities. If you don’t agree – that’s okay! Just skip to the next part! Ostara is named for the Goddess, Eostre (sounds like Easter, right?). Ostara was celebrated by the Germanic people and fertility and rebirth were the major aspects of the festival or sabbat (depends on if you follow the Wheel of the Year like I do). Similar to the Christian belief of Christ rising from the dead and a reference of the sun rising in the east. Ostara is beautiful in that we are celebrating the balance of light and dark. We are celebrating fertility of not only mama earth but fertility in a metaphorical sense. As in, where are we spiritually, mentally and emotionally? What are we wanting to grow, what plans are we wanting to accomplish or where are we placing our energies to flourish? Other symbolism associated with Ostara are flowers and eggs. Both are breathing new life and signs of fertility. They are symbols of fertility which is what we are celebrating – mama earth coming back to life after a long winter’s slumber.

Like every kid, ours love receiving a basket of goodies! Magdalene, as we all know, loves her minnows! Atticus seems to really like rabbit bites and Forrest is our resident banana lover. Laveena loves that sweet savory combo (don’t blame her!) So, I chose a bag of sweet potato pecan dog treats. Both boys received bowties and the girlies received not one, but two dresses -thanks to a buy three get one free promo Chewy was having!

Both, Ostara and Easter, have similar crafts. Yep, I am aware my crew are not real kids BUT who doesn’t love to get involved and “help”… I see several paws raising over here! Dying eggs is a tradition that I absolutely love! I have since I was a kid and I love to be creative. While my boys “insisted” on dino eggs, I made sure the girls had a cute option. Both of the kits were only $6 at Target. Puppy’s painting – yes. Absolutely, yes. A cute paw print on our little stems and leaves I painted – they cooperated and were such good sports! I love holidays where we can enjoy making memories with them!

Food! Who doesn’t love a good meal or a good excuse to cook up a feast? Ostara is about fertility of the spring. Traditionally, folks would cook up Rabbit. I am not cooking rabbit. That’s a little too out there for me at the moment. I’ll stick with something simpler. We could do a ham with all the sides, something seasonal or mix it up. Possibilities are endless as Spring is all about birthing something new! But being sensible, I try to view it as though what would my ancestors dish up? Especially, hundreds of years ago, early spring can be quite unpredictable. Cold, wet, rainy, snowing, perhaps a bit warm somedays all mixed together. I wanted a nourishing split pea soup, with a loaf of crusty French bread. Carrot Cake is the quintessential spring dessert. Beautiful combination of cozy, warm but fresh like spring air!

Whatever you choose to celebrate this spring season, let it fill your heart with joy! I hope the fresh air revitalizes your spirit and fill you with energy that anything is possible. Spring is about birthing new ideas, making plans and being excited for the “what ifs”. Cheers to our next adventure!