We just wrapped up the first full week of February!
Here are three events to watch for, two quotes for the season, and one grounding activity to get you slowing down in the month ahead.1
Three Events to Celebrate this Month
1. Northern Lights
The northern lights (also known as aurora borealis) are characterized by colorful, dancing lights in the night sky. They occur when charged particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere, creating beautiful displays of light primarily near the polar regions.
This is the best time of the year to see the the northern lights because of the longer and darker winter night skies in the northern hemisphere.
Scientists also think 2024 will be an especially vivid year for aurora borealis sightings because we are reaching the peak of a roughly 11-year cycle in solar activity, known as solar maximum. When there's a lot of activity from the sun (like strong solar winds or solar flares) it tends to make the northern lights more intense and easier to see.
During the solar maximum, the aurora zone also spreads further south, making it possible to occasionally see the northern lights at 40 degrees latitude or even lower (aka as far south as Denver, CO, Philadelphia, PA, or Rome, Italy).
Interested in knowing more about solar maximum (including it’s disruptive potential to our satellites) and the period of greater spectacle? This PBS News spot provides a quick explainer:
2. Squirrels are having kits
Squirrels typically breed two times of year — in late winter and late summer — and give birth to their babies, or “kits,” during their winter cycle sometime around February or March.
Generally, squirrels give birth to litters ranging from one to eight offspring, with three or four being more common. Kits wean at about 10 weeks of age and are ready to leave the nest by around 12 weeks.
3. Yosemite’s “Firefall” Occurs
In mid- to late- February, an optical phenomenon known as “Firefall” occurs every year in Yosemite National Park, in which the setting sun aligns perfectly with the waterfall known as Horsetail Falls, casting a glow upon the waterfall that makes it seem like a lava flow.
This natural spectacle happens when the combination of clear skies, the angle of the setting sun, the amount of water, and the waterfall's orientation all line up to create the illusion of a cascading river of fire against the granite cliffs.
During the latter half of February, this event occurs around 5 to 15 minutes before sunset. This year, peak viewing time will be between February 10 and February 24.
Two Quotes for February (Groundhog Day edition)
1.
In honor the 1993 movie classic, Groundhog Day, here’s Bill Murray’s Phil at his most fed up:
“You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.”
2.
Or perhaps we might appreciate this gentler version of Phil in Groundhog Day a little better?
"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."
Slowing Down: Try this for the month of February
Have you started to notice the swelling of buds or appearance of spring bulbs yet where you live? This is the of year to start paying attention.
For the rest of the month, plan in some slow walks in different neighborhoods to take a closer look at gardens, plants, and trees to see if you can notice any difference.
Start now, and keep checking in each week.
Reminders:
Our online online workshop, “The Value Blueprint: Mapping Your Path to Meaningful Work,” is starting soon! The first session is on February 15. We hope to see you there!
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And if are looking for a gift that reminds you to slow down this year, please consider the gift of a shirt or mug from our “Slow the F*ck Down” campaign.