About Fine Weather
May 21 - June 5
First Pentad, May 21 - 26
Second Pentad, May 27 - 31
Third Pentad, June 1 - 5
The Japanese word shoman used to describe this season more accurately means, “the weather becomes fine and everything begins to go well.” We’ve taken the liberty here of shortening this concept to “Fine Weather,” but it is nice to be reminded of this seasons true meaning. It is the time of year where we leave worries behind – the month of May bids us well and we are enveloped by the early days of June, one of the most charming times of the year. Gardens are coming into stride, and our daily lives have adjusted to a new rhythm. We spend more time outdoors, take time to stop and smell the roses, and revel in everything.
The Beginning of Summer
Podcast Episode
Join Alexis and Kit for a sunny day in the garden in this episode celebrating “the season when the weather becomes fine and everything starts to go well,” or Fine Weather. Birdsong and the delight of growing things await us during the brighter days of this fine season. In Hiro’s Corner, we look at three rare kigo of early summertime.
Click here for poems & songs featured in this episode.
Words of the Season
In the Sky
Fine Weather
Bird Song
Skylarks
Fruit Bag Hanging
Dusk in the Garden
In the Ground & Water
Geraniums
Broad Beans
Weeds
Grass
In Our Lives
Gardens indoors and outdoors
Koromogae - Changing out the Clothes for the Season
Weeding
Recommended
Reading
If all this fine weather has you inspired to be in the garden, Old Herbaceous by Reginald Arkwell shares the humorous and sentimental story of an old gardener reflecting back on his years in the garden.
For the time of year when you want to be outside, yet still keeping your reading going, we recommend the engrosing and insightful What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama. Delightful reading for a delightful time of year.
If the season of Fine Weather has you feeling like you wish to seize the day, The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery is a story of just that.