Entering the Year of the Horse

Intention With Tenacity

From where I sit and write to you here in northern Vermont, the Gregorian New Year has passed—carrying us forward with intentions and promises made, calendar years rolled into the next, and quiet commitments spoken in the deep heart of the winter, all done with an eye toward the year to come. And yet, on February 17, 2026, we stand at another point—a threshold—of change and possibility.

This threshold is the Lunar New Year—a point of transition guided by a rhythm markedly different from that of the Gregorian calendar, a rhythm shaped by moonlight, by tide, by season, and by the slow stirring under the bark and beneath the soil. This point in time reminds us that renewal is not only cyclical, but interwoven—gathering substance before it rises.

As we enter the Year of the Horse, we’re reminded that true strength and vitality are neither empty noise nor passing catchphrases—rather, they are qualities anchored in care, perseverance, intention, and rooted tenacity. The Horse represents disciplined fire, embodied strength, and forward momentum born from what has been carefully stored—where essence becomes motion, where stillness becomes stride, and where knowledge alchemizes into wisdom. Qualities that have guided RAW Forest Foods since it's founding in 2010.

Today, we are nearing the vernal equinox. The light wakens earlier each morning and lingers longer each evening. Golden hours compress. Beneath frozen soil, roots prepare ascent. Spring energy stirs under banked snow. On a frozen bluebird day, you can catch the melody of the chickadees, still full in their winter plumes. There is beauty in this seasonality.

Today stands as a threshold of cultivation and change. Of being and becoming. Even now, beneath banked snow, possibility is taking shape. What is nourished now becomes manifest tomorrow.

I invite you to step into this point of possibility with us, and may this Lunar New Year bring grounded strength, direction, and momentum guided by intention, experience, and knowing—not urgency.

With gratitude,

Ryan Wade
RAW Forest Foods