Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2017

Thanksgiving, with its reliable bounty, its reunions, its hours of perfumed air, is over, and the raking, the planting of bulbs and the digging of root crops are finished for the year. The freezer and pantry shelves are as full as they are going to be: What we have done, we have done; and what we have left undone, we have left undone.

-Jane Kenyon

Almanac horoscope

Moon time: On Dec. 3, the Paperwhite Moon is full at 10:47 a.m. and it reaches perigee, its position closest to Earth, that day, as well. This is the only “Supermoon” (full at perigee) of 2017.

Sun time: On Dec. 2, the sun reaches its earliest setting of the year in much of the lower Midwest, and it continues to set at the same time for 12 days.

Planet time: Venus and Saturn in Ophiuchus are not visible this month. Mars, moving retrograde into Libra, lies low on the eastern horizon with Jupiter before dawn.

Star time: Orion is the most obvious of all the star groups, and around him cluster some of the easiest stars to identify. Leading Orion into winter is red Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus. In front of Taurus, the seven sisters of the Pleiades lie almost in the center of the sky.

Above the Hunter’s raised arms, Capella is the largest light in Auriga. Above and behind Orion, Castor and Pollux, the brightest stars of Gemini, mark the east. Trailing along in the southeast is Sirius, the giant Dog Star.

Weather time

Weather patterns suggest that storms are most likely to occur during the following periods: Dec. 1-3, 24-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Full moon and perigee on Dec. 3 and Jan. 1 and new moon on Dec. 18 are likely to hasten wintry conditions. The Supermoon of Jan. 1 should definitely bring deep cold and snow.

The first high-pressure system of December is normally one of the less violent fronts of the month. This year, however, full moon and lunar perigee on Dec. 3 should bring a fierce arrival to early winter.

The high-pressure system that typically arrives at the end of December’s first week is a major pivot for severe weather throughout the states along the 40th Parallel. A secondary front often increases the assault on your homestead between Dec. 11-13.

Zeitgebers (events in nature that tell the time of year): When sunset reaches its earliest time of the year, the brittle leaves of the pear trees fall. This is the time during which the second bloom of forsythia flowers ends, when witch hazel blossoms wither and the last of the golden beeches, the willows, Osage and oaks come down.

Even though this is one more week of endings, it is not a week of stasis. Spruces are growing new needles. Caraway and henbit sometimes flower in the sun, and a dandelion or a periwinkle opens in scattered fields and lawns. Fresh chickweed, which sprouted at the end of the summer, is blossoming in warm corners of the woods.

Catnip sometimes grows back beside thistle, moneywort, chickweed, wild geranium, leafcup, henbit and yarrow.

Farm and garden time

Try to complete harvest of corn, soybeans and sugar beets before the arrival of early winter, which normally storms in with the second December front, bringing the first taste of snow to the Border States and often a major blizzard to the North.

The Christmas tree harvest is well underway, and the last poinsettias have come north. In greenhouses and sunrooms, tomatoes sown in July will be getting ripe as December approaches. Marigolds, zinnias, impatiens and other bedding plants saved from the cold may still be flowering.

Marketing time: December brings feast days to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. On Dec. 1, Sunni Muslims celebrate Muhammad’s Birthday, and Shia Muslims celebrate it on Dec. 6. The Jewish feast of Hanukkah takes place between Dec. 12-20 and, of course, Christmas is Dec. 25.

Mind and body time

The danger of Seasonal Affective Disorder increases as the winter period of solar stability (Dec. 5-Jan. 8) begins, keeping the days short and the amount of available sunlight. Be out-of-doors as much as possible to maximize exposure to light. The bright fluorescent lights of malls and shopping centers may also be helpful.

Creature time (for fishing, hunting, feeding, bird-watching): The moon is overhead in the late evening (its most powerful time) this week. Fishing and hunting, however, could be done at the second-best lunar time, the late morning and early afternoon. Cold fronts that usually arrive around Dec. 3 and 8 will be preceded by a dropping barometer, encouraging activity in fish and game.

Honeysuckle foliage continues to fall, opening up the undergrowth for hikers and hunters. If you are bird-watching, set out additional feeders for suet and fruit, as well as for seeds and grains. Keep track of the types of birds that arrive in your yard. Be ready for late and early migrants.

Almanac literature

The Ohio Coon Dog Field Trials

By Pete Jones

Lynn, Ind.

My life as a young boy was much different than the lives of most of my friends Most of them spent Sunday in Sunday School and church. I spent my Sundays working at the Ohio Coon Dog Field Trials.

My dad built an electric generator with a gas engine for power. It would run his sound system in places where there was no electricity available. My job was to climb trees and help place two large steel speakers in them. I would help string wire from the speakers to the sound systems. Dad could then make announcements about the trials or play music from a recorded player.

The trials were always held in the woods. Men would go about a mile away and drag a sack of coon manure over the ground. They would take the sack up to a tree where a coon would be tied to a lower limb. The trial would be over when the first dog would tree the coon by looking up at the coon and barking at him.

Yes, there was a lot of money bet on the dogs. The first to tree the coon won all the money for his owner.