Sun’s longitude： 345°
Lunar calendar: Lunar calendar: 24th January
Pentads: Peaches begin to blossom, Orioles sing, Eagles transform into cuckoos

“Opening the Dragon’s Mouth” — really it’s the first time I heard this expression, over breakfast with my mother today. Apparently for the older generation, this refers to the first thunderstorm after the Insects Waken (Cantonese: Gengzat; “awakening of insects”); only after this will the croaking of frogs be heard. This seems right, after some thought; after all, how could tadpoles survive without rainfall? The humming insects gradually multiplied in the afternoon, and Siu Hang Village became a miraculous place. The three-story village houses on the side are getting ever denser, but heading up the slope around the mountain, you can only see the canopy of the forest covering up the sky. You can hear the sound of cicadas chirping, many of them. Passing by a little village hut on my way out, I see that the clothing of the magical dolls representing villains have already been burnt to ashes, and the beans are scattered everywhere. But really, this is nothing compared to my childhood, when there used to be fantastical scenes of paper tigers with their mouths stuffed full of fatty pork everywhere.

黃經： 345°
農曆正月廿四
物候: 桃始華，倉庚鳴，鷹化為鳩

「開龍口」－還是第一次聽這種說法，今天跟媽媽吃早餐時才聽到的。原來上一代人指驚蟄後第一場雷雨，才會聽到蛙聲，想深一層，這說法也是對的，沒有雨水又怎養活蝌蚪呢。鳴蟲的聲音在午後也漸漸多起來，小坑村也成了個奇妙的地方，旁邊的三幢式村屋越建越密集，不過走上了斜路就只有密不見天的樹叢，蟬的聲音很多。離開時經過村舍，打小人的衣紙已化成灰燼，豆也四處撤開了，不過比起小時候四處都有肥豬肉封紙老虎口的奇景，著實是小巫見大巫。