With the weather getting warmer, Arley and I have embraced a new ritual of beginning each morning with breakfast on our balcony. We recently witnessed the ephemeral and glorious sakura blizzards of early April give way to cherries in place of each delicate blossom. Now we’re starting to notice the screechy but graceful Azure-winged Magpies who have returned to our neighborhood (perhaps for the slow-growing fruit).
Our daily balcony routine has encouraged us to slow down and pay closer attention to the gradual changes in our neighborhood’s flora and fauna. It has also sparked my interest in delving deeper into the traditional Japanese calendar of 72 micro-seasons. Originally rooted in Chinese tradition, this calendar was first introduced to Japan through Korea during the mid-6th century and later adapted in 1685 to fit the local climate. The calendar begins in February and divides the four seasons into 24 sekki. There are further divided into 72 kō that last about 5 days each. Each kō poetically marks the subtle shifts in the seasons, including the blooming of specific flowers, the ripening of fruits, the migration of birds, and other transient natural phenomena.
I love how this calendar invites us to slow down and become attuned to the intricate rhythms of our ecological community. It makes me wonder what it would look like to rewrite this calendar for our own neighborhood in 2024. Perhaps this week’s kō would be “the magpies screech again.”
What subtle changes have you observed in your eco-community this week? What name would you give to describe the current kō?
Names: Azure-winged Magpie | Cyanopica cyanus | オナガ (onaga)
Size: 33-38cm
Range: Azure-winged Magpies can be found year-round in Central Japan, the Korean peninsula, Mongolia, eastern and northern China, and southeastern Siberia. Most populations are resident, meaning they don’t migrate very far.
Habitat: They prefer open woodlands to dense forests and can be found in orchards, wooded farmland, and even urban green spaces.
Diet: Azure-winged Magpies mainly feast on insects, nuts, and fruit, but will also prey on other bird eggs and animal carcasses. They forage together in flocks and occasionally store food in patches of soil or under fallen leaves.
For this post, we consulted Cornell Lab and Bird Research News. For paying subscribers, here is the wallpaper of the month!