Notes from the Threshold — Feral Roots Conservatory February in Virginia is winter at full strength. The cold settles deeper. The light is slow to return. Ice, wind, and sudden storms remind us that spring is still far away. This is the part of winter that tests endurance — not the beginning, not the end, but the long middle stretch where the body feels tired, the mind feels restless, and the heart feels caught between wanting change and needing rest. This is the emotional s

February arrives quietly. Not with the bright, triumphant energy of spring, but with something far more tender — a subtle warmth under the cold, a pressure building beneath the surface, a whisper that says not yet… but soon. This is Imbolc, the ancient cross‑quarter day marking the midpoint between winter and spring. It’s the season of first stirrings, invisible growth, and the slow return of light. And for many of us, it’s also the time when our bodies feel the most conflict