Winter-Spring Update + Beltane Round-up

The past couple of years I wrote monthly and "two monthly" updates on the blog. I enjoyed it, but as I said in the November/December 2020 update post, I prefer doing them less often because I found it harder fitting them in with the other seasonal posts. So, I've decided to do quarterly "season to season" posts instead this year. 

Here is the winter to spring update. :) Also, Beltane is coming up on 1st May, so I've made this a "double post". Scroll down for the Beltane section. :)

 

Winter-Spring Update

In January we went into another lockdown in England (our 3rd since March last year, when the coronavirus spread worldwide). I was disappointed but this one wasn't as bad as the first one, since it was quite similar to the 2nd lockdown in November. 

So, I wasn't up to much during the first part of year. I went for my weekly park walks and also went to the beach, although it was cold! I wrote a post sharing some winter photos, and also with ideas for preparing for spring. Check it out to see some pics from January and February: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/winter-photos-preparing-for-spring.html

At the beginning of February, I celebrated Imbolg. You can read about my celebration here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/02/imbolg-2021.html

It seemed colder than last winter but we only got a bit of snow in early Feb. 

At the beginning of March, it was my birthday. It was my first "lockdown birthday" (since last year's lockdown didn't happen till late March), but I was able to get some Nando's because it was open for takeaway and delivery. 

I had my usual chicken butterfly (plain-ish) and chips. There's no picture but you can see one from last year here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/05/marchapril-update-baking-inspiration.html

I got a Coke from Burger King because I like having drinks with syrup and ice, and Nando's was only doing cans, lol. I also had Nando's carrot cake for pudding (dessert) and had some chocolate gelado as well. 

21st March was the Spring Equinox aka Oestara/Ostara and the official start of spring. You can read my post about Oestara here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/oestara-2021.html 

In late March I went to Lancing Beach at sunset and went for a walk. Here are a couple of pics: 

Oestara 2021

Last Saturday it was Oestara, (more commonly known as Ostara) aka the Spring Equinox. As I mentioned in the Happy Oestara! post, my main celebration was baking. This year I actually did some "no-baking", since I made a Birdies Perch Malteser slice, which is one of my favourite things to make. The recipe is from Sam Stern. Read more about it and find a link to the recipe here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2013/09/birdies-perch-malteser-slice.html

I last made it for Oestara in 2016. That year I made it a bit differently, but this Oestara I stuck to my usual recipe. I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top to fit the theme! Here's a picture:

Happy Oestara!

Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara), aka the Spring Equinox is almost here. This year it's on Saturday 20th March (tomorrow!). I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but wasn't able to get this finished earlier, so I'm posting today instead. :)

Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly time for Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox. You might like these posts:

Madron/Autumn Equinox Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/09/madronautumn-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Madron/Autumn:  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/celebrating-madron-autumn.html

Madron Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/madron-inspiration.html

Baking for Madron + Extra Ideas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/09/baking-for-madron-extra-ideas.html

 

For the past few years, I've written posts with ideas for celebrating Oestara and spring. You can read them at the links below:

Oestara/Spring Equinox Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/03/oestaraspring-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Oestara + Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/celebrating-oestara-spring.html

Oestara Celebration Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/oestara-celebration-inspiration.html

Oestara + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/oestara-spring-inspiration.html

 

Since I've already written quite a few celebration/inspiration posts, this year I'm just writing a brief background and sharing a few new links. :) 

 

Winter Photos + Preparing for Spring

Back in 2019 I wrote a post called Summer Photos + Preparing for Autumn. You can see that here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/summer-photos-preparing-for-autumn.html

Now that we're at the tail end of winter, I thought it would be good to do an "opposite" post. So here are some winter photos and inspiration for preparing for spring. :) 

Winter Photos

We're coming to the end of winter and spring isn't far off. Although if you go by the meteorological definition, it already started on 1st March. The astronomical start of spring is on the Spring Equinox aka Oestara/Ostara, which is 20th March this year.

So, this is a "double post" featuring winter pictures and spring inspiration. :) 

 

First here are a few photos I took this winter. It seemed colder than the past couple of years. In Sussex we had a bit of snow during February, which made a change. We don't often get any. I don't think we've had a significant amount since 2018.

Buckingham Park- Shoreham-by-sea- January.

Imbolg 2021

Last Tuesday (2nd Feb) it was Imbolg (more commonly known as Imbolc.). Some people celebrate from sundown on the 1st on sundown on the 2nd, but I normally have my main celebration on the 2nd.

I made pancakes, oatmeal ones (American style) this year. The recipe is from Don't Waste the Crumbs: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oatmeal-pancakes/

They came out quite well and were good to have for a change. You could also make them for Pancake Day on the 16th this month, but I think I'll make English pancakes for that. Here's a pic of the oatmeal pancakes: 

 

Ideas for Imbolg

 

 

Imbolg (more commonly called Imbolc) is almost here. It's 1st/2nd February, Monday (tomorrow)/Tuesday in 2021. Some people celebrate it from sundown on 1st Feb to sundown on 2nd, although I tend to celebrate on the 2nd. Another name is Candlemas (which is also a Christian festival).

I've previously written some posts with ideas and inspiration for celebrating, which you can find below:

Imbolg Celebration Ideas: : https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/01/imbolg-celebration-ideas.html

Imbolg Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/01/imbolg-inspiration.html

More Imbolg Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.om/2020/01/more-imbolg-inspiration.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly Lammas! Check out these posts for inspiration:

Lammas Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/07/lammas-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Lammas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/07/celebrating-lammas.html

July Update + Lammas Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/july-update-lammas-inpiration.html

Baking for Lammas + Extra Ideas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/07/baking-for-lammas-extra-ideas.html

 

Imbolg is the first spring festival on the Wheel of the Year and the first sabbat of the new calendar year. The new year on the Wheel began at either Samhain or Yule, depending on your beliefs. It's a cross-quarter day, in between Yule/the Winter Solstice in December, and Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox in March. You will more often find it called Imbolc, but I first came across it as Imbolg in Kate West's books The Real Witches' Kitchen and The Real Witches' Handbook. It's also called February Eve, since in some traditions Imbolg is celebrated from 31st Jan to 1st Feb.

Christmas Ginger Poke Cake + November/December Update

I hadn't written my November/December update yet and I was also planning to write about the ginger poke cake I made for Christmas, so I decided to do a double post. (Rather than two weeks apart). Also did that last year). If you just want to read the update, scroll further down. :)

Christmas Ginger Poke Cake

For this Christmas (or Christmas 2020 now!) I decided to make a recipe based on a gingerbread poke cake. It's from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes: http://www.fantasticalsharing.com/2020/12/gingerbread-poke-cake.html

The recipe uses a cake mix which I thought was easier after a stressful year! I called it a "ginger poke cake" because I couldn't find an actual gingerbread cake mix. So, I used Wrights ginger cake mix. 

I hadn't made a poke cake before but I've come across them online. I think they're more popular in America. You make the cake then poke holes in it with a wooden spoon, and pour condensed milk and caramel sauce over the top to soak in. I couldn't find a caramel sauce either, so I just used condensed milk. 

The recipe uses Cool Whip but I don't think we have that in the UK. So, I made a cream cheese icing using a recipe from Nigella Lawson. It goes with her Guinness chocolate cake. (I haven't baked the cake but it looks very nice!). I previously used cream cheese frosting instead of Cool Whip when I made a gingerbread cake for Madron 2015. It was Betty Crocker's ready-made frosting in that case.

I liked the cake, although I do think it could have been a bit nicer, the flavour and texture. Here's a pic: