Imbolc Eve! I always put milk and honey, and bread and butter, out for the Faeries on this night. Imbolc is connected to dairy through birthing. This is the time sheep are born, roughly anyway. And the Gentry like milk products according to legend. This night I planned on taking it out while it was still light as the temperatures were going down below zero. But I didn't manage it till later so I had to bundle up, wear a facemask because of the 20-30 below wind chill, and walk very gingerly on the hard ice covering the drive. So there I am, flashlight in one hand, plate with both food and a cup of milk and honey in the other, peering at the ground of the driveway looking for the places where the ice had melted (in the previous week's warm weather) to let gravel show through so I could avoid slipping and spilling it all, let alone hurting myself. LOL I don't know how funny it looked from the outside but from the inside it sure felt amusing.
As I walked to our namesake oak the snow was solid under my feet and I felt like I was walking across a lake on top the water. The night was clear and the stars shone brightly. What an incredible feeling!
Copyright © 2001 Kyril Oakwind