The world is well kept…. Her undertakings are secure and never fail. – Henry David Thoreau

Astronomical Data

At night, Orion will be almost overhead at bedtime, and Gemini will tower behind it. The evenings of early spring push Orion deep into the west, bring Cancer and Leo overhead, and by the time late spring reaches the 40th Parallel, Orion will have disappeared from the dark sky, and boxy Libra will be rising in the southeast, the Corona Borealis above it.

Weather Trends

January in the Lower Midwest usually produces an average of nine days in the 20s, three days with highs only in the teens, and one day when the temperature does not get above 10 degrees. There is almost always one mild day during the month, sometimes up to 10. About 12 days are in the 30s, and there can be up to five days in the 40s and 50s. An average of two mornings dip below zero (the 9th and the 11th being the days most likely to see such cold).

There are 10 to 15 afternoons when highs stay below freezing, and often those days come together, creating the definitive freeze of middle winter. The worst spells fall between the 1st and the 20th.

Weather history for the second week of January shows rapidly increasing odds for colder weather. Chances for highs only in the 20s or teens increase to near 50 percent on the 8th, 9th, 14th and 15th. Below-zero readings occur most often on the 9th, 11th and 16th (20 percent of the years in my record). With a general increase in the cold, skies have fewer clouds this week of the year, and the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th bringing a 60 percent chance for sun. The cloudiest day of the week is usually the 14th, with only a 35 percent chance for clearing. Precipitation occurs two years out of three between the 12th and the 14th, with the 14th bringing snow to central Ohio more often than any other day of the entire year.

The Countdown to Spring

• One week until owls and foxes mate and the Big Dipper’s Merak and Dubhe, pointers for the North Star, are positioned east-west after dark.

• One and a half weeks until sauger start to bite in the muddy Ohio River. And Plough Monday is Jan. 13. That’s the official start of the agricultural year!

• Two weeks until the traditional January Thaw time and blue jays give their bell-like mating call. Bluebirds return from their brief  vacation in the South.

• Two and a half weeks until the beginning of Late Winter and the day’s length surpasses 10 hours and skunk cabbage blooms in the wetlands.

• Three weeks until cardinals start to sing before dawn. Flies and cabbage butterflies sometimes hatch on indoor plants.

• Four weeks until doves join the cardinals, and maple sap is running.

• Four and a half weeks until the first red-winged blackbirds arrive in the wetlands.

• Five weeks to the very first snowdrop bloom and the official start of early spring.

• Six weeks to major pussy willow emerging season.

• Seven weeks to crocus season in town and snow trillium season in the woods.

• Eight weeks to the beginning of the morning robin chorus before sunrise.

• Nine weeks to daffodil time and until the yellow blossoms of forsythia bushes appear.

• 10 weeks to the major wildflower bloom and until tulip season.

In The Field and Garden

Pruning is recommended for the next two weeks, as the moon wanes. Depending on where you live, this may be the time to lime your soil. Since lime reacts slowly with the ground, it should be worked in a few months before planting. Lime can also be applied to the surface for no-till fields.

Inspect young trees for rodent damage throughout the winter. Consider forage testing for your livestock soon if you suspect that quality is declining.

Some traditional supplements for your animals include a teaspoon of molasses in a pint of milk, powdered slippery elm, calcium rich powdered willow bark, flaked oats, powdered seaweed, and mashed raw carrots. As with any supplement, use in moderation, and keep track of any results you notice.

The major lambing and kidding season now starts throughout the region: more lambs and kids are born in the next eight weeks than in any other months.

Sap may be restless in the maples under the power of the full moon on Jan. 10.

A light feeding in the morning, and a heavier feeding toward dark can provide your chickens with a little more heat as the mercury falls.

Egg production can be expected to decline when highs stay below 30 degrees, but warm water may help keep the hens laying a little.

Frost-seed crops like red clover in the pastures, and scatter grass seed over bare spots on the lawn. Freezing and thawing plants the seeds.

Spray broad-leafed evergreens with anti-drying agent to prevent winterkill. Prepare landscaping, garden, and field maps, including plans for double cropping, intercropping, and companion planting.

Almanac Literature

Problem Solver

By Jamie Roof, Kansas City, Mo.

I have a ram whose antics have given me a few laughs. My first sight of this ram when he was just a lamb should have enlightened me. He was in a very unsheeplike position, halfway up a wall eating from a hanging bucket.

“Hmmm,” said his breeder, “So that’s where the llamas’ food is going.”

I took him home anyway.

He earned his name, P.S., for Problem Solver, when he jumped out of the ram pen to breed two ewes in February.

Well, I wanted a ram without out-of-season breeding potential. It’s not unusual for rams to climb or jump fences for ewes in heat or for food, but I underestimated the range of his interests.

Late winter and early spring, I have round bales of hay delivered regularly. Hay delivery is a festive day for ewes and lambs. The ewes and I scamper behind the flatbed trailer as the bales are unloaded. They want to sample, and I am moving the hay feeder panels from old bales to new. Meanwhile, the lambs hold riotous games of “king of the hill” on the mounds of uneaten hay.

The hay guy, Dave, and I paused in our work to watch the lamb game. Sometimes a few of the ewes will join the fun and this time, a huge ewe ran up and quickly took command of the hill of hay.

“That’s a good-looking ewe,” said Dave.

“Yes,” I agreed as I stared at the “ewe” and tried to figure out who she was.

Finally, I realized it was P.S. He was almost two years old, and he wasn’t willing to watch the party from the boring ram pen. He defended his place on the hill from the hordes of Lambiputians until, panting from the effort, he was satisfied. Boredom problem solved, he trotted back to rejoin the other rams.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SCKRAMBLER

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