February: When trees begin to grow again
The beginning of February in much of the northern hemisphere marks the start of the end of winter, the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. It is when the grounds of the earth begin to heat up again and all the growth that had come to a halt begins again. At this time of the year, farmers begin to plant again outdoors. They sow seeds, plant and transplant all the varieties of fruit and vegetables we enjoy in the summer months. In Egypt, the planting of fruit-bearing trees such as olive, mango, fig and citrus happens between February and March. Simultaneously, the trees already in the earth begin to resume their growth activities again. Vegetables, such as aubergines, peppers, tomatoes and onions, that we enjoy in the late spring and early summer months start their lives now.
Just like it did for our ancient predecessors, February today too marks the time we begin to slowly make our way outside into the world again. During this month, we can observe the winter season come to a close and by the end of it you can see the first visible signs of growth with new leaves budding from tree branches and out of the earth making their way slowly out into the world. What was growing previously in hiding comes to the light as the trees of the earth begin to reach upwards and outwards towards the sun once again. Not only are the trees getting more light now but we too begin to get more light as the days during this month become visibly longer again.
What we call February, the Egyptian farmer of today refers to as Amshir in Arabic. Known too as Mechir in Greek, it is the sixth month of the Coptic calendar and falls between February 8 and March 9. In Ancient Egypt, the month of Mechir was also known as the second month of the Season of Proyet (Growth and Emergence) when the flooding from the Nile would recede and the crops would begin to grow again. Mechir is named after the Ancient Egyptian God Mechir which means Genius of the Wind.
The reason farmers in Egypt today still use the Coptic calendar is because it was affiliated with the agricultural seasons and was inherited from the ancient Egyptian calendar. To best capture this change in seasons, each Coptic month is accompanied by its own witty proverb explaining the changing weather. For example, Amshir comes with the following Arabic proverb “Abu al za3abib al keteer yakhod al agouza w yeteir” which translates to “Amshir huffs and puffs and makes the old woman fly”. From the proverb, one can immediately recognize that the nature of this month of Amshir is windy and full of sandstorms. Egyptian farmers divided this month into three:
Mashir - the first ten days of the shepherd where it is deceptively warm.
Mesharshar - the middle ten days of the sheep where it is very cold, rainy and windy and many sheep die as a result
Sharasher - the last ten days where old people can start to move around and enjoy the warm weather.
It is indeed very fascinating that this information has survived and still greatly informs how Egyptians farm today. One of the beautiful ways this continuity in time can be appreciated by each one of us is when we bite through the juicy flesh of a mango come summer and remember that it all began to grow sometime long ago, sometime when it was still cold and still February. If you’d like to know more about your local trees and what to look out for, see our previous blogpost on The Trees of Maadi: More Than Just a Pretty Face. This is a great time to get your balcony gardens starting or make your home the home for a new shrub or two. The nurseries all along the Maadi train tracks are a great place to do some plant shopping whether you’re looking for some tomato seeds, a basil plant or a baby fig tree.