We've just passed the first quarter of the year, so it's time for the first seasonal update of 2026 (winter-spring)! For the past few years I've written quarterly updates (from "season to season"). I previously wrote monthly updates in 2019 and then "two monthly" (two months at a time) ones in 2020, but found that quarterly was better for me. So I'm going to carry that on this year. :)
You can see my autumn-winter 2025 update here if you like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/01/christmas-spiced-gingerbread-cake.html
As with last year, I didn't really do much during January. At the beginning of February I celebrated Imbolg/Imbolc. You can read my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/02/imbolg-2026.html
At the beginning of March it was my birthday. I got a few presents and a red velvet cake from Marks & Spencer. I also had takeaway from Nando's.
Then in mid-late March it was Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox. You can read my post about my celebrations here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/03/oestara-2026.html
I went to the park as part of my celebrations for Oestara (see the post above) and I also went to another park the following week. I went around sunset but ended up getting there later, so it was going by the time I got to the park. It was still quite a nice evening though.
Here are a couple of photos:
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| View by Hove Park. |
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| Blossom trees in the park. :) |
Apart from that, I've still been going regularly to Happy Café (Action for Happiness' Meetup events).
I haven't baked much, apart from making cupcakes for Oestara (see post).
I started a Substack back in June 2024 (almost 2 years ago now!) but hadn't written much on it. However, in February I wrote a post about why I celebrate the seasons. I think I'll add it to my Resources page on the blog, but for now I'll share it here: https://zaniamuma.substack.com/p/why-i-celebrate-the-seasons
I'm still not posting regularly on there. I think it's a bit much along with running TSL, plus my other blogs Star Sparkle Blog and Falling Petals. But I plan to write more on Substack this year.
Weather wise, we had a bit of snow in Sussex in winter but hardly any in my area (as I mentioned in my autumn-winter update). We mostly just had rain! As we moved into spring, the weather varied, colder but then warming up., Lately there have been quite a lot of sunny days, which is nice. A couple of days it was up to about 20C (68F). At the moment it's around 14C (57F) during the day and 9C (49F) at night.
So that's it for the update! I haven't had lot to write about in these posts in recent months but it's still good to keep a record of things. :)
The next sabbat is Beltane, so I've included a section with some inspiration below. :)
Read: The Witching Hour (a ghost/supernatural story anthology in the same series as The Haunting Season and The Winter Spirits), How to Manifest by Lacy Phillips (non fictnal book about manifesting), Titanic: the Long Night by Diane Hoh (one of my favourites), Charlotte by Helen Moffet.
Links I found useful in winter and spring:
Janet Domahina video about staying positive and getting motivated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXxkxt8AntU&t=2s
The Spiritual Meaning of Spring: A Slow Living Guide to the Season : https://yrstudio.co.uk/blogs/adriana-tudorache-blog/the-spiritual-meaning-of-spring
P.S. It's Beltane this upcoming week, Friday 1st May (or Thursday 30th April depending on when you start celebrating), so I'm sharing a few links with inspiration and celebration ideas. :)
Happy Beltane! (my most recent round-up post from 2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/happy-beltane.html
Salads for Beltane + Extra Ideas! (salads to make for Beltane, plus some extra ideas): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/salads-for-beltane-extra-ideas.html
Spring Salads + Happy Balente (salads to make for spring in general, as well as some links about Belyane): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-salads-happy-beltane.html
How Your Modern Beltane Celebration is Shaped By History (The Willful Witch): https://willfulwitch.com/beltane-celebration/
May Day/Beltane Crafts (The Moon School): https://www.themoonschool.org/seasonal/40-incredible-may-day-crafts
And here are a couple more recipes you could make:
Greek tuna salad: https://anoregoncottage.com/greek-tuna-salad/
Lemon ricotta and chicken pasta salad: https://simplytaralynn.com/2026/04/17/lemon-ricotta-and-garlic-chicken-pasta-salad/
Or if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, here are a couple of my most recent Samhain posts:
Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en! (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/happy-samhainhalloween.html
Summer-Autumn Update (2025) + Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/10/summer-autumn-update-2025-happy.html
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