Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2011

There is a seasonal exhaustion in the air. The ground is cool and subdued as the hills turn dusky and purple by late afternoon. I pass cleared fields full of stubble, the lank, dark stalks of corn. Milkweeds, where monarchs deposited their eggs, have opened their pods, and the white silk lies over browning grass like wisps of cotton, or is concentrated in spots like the downy feathers of a chicken caught by a fox.

-John Hay

The Sandhill Crane Migration Moon enters its second quarter at 4:52 a.m. Dec. 2, and this weak lunar position increases the odds for a mild start to the month. Rising in the middle of the day and setting after midnight, this moon lies overhead in the evening.

Fishing and hunting have the best chance of receiving a “lunar bump” if undertaken with the moon above you as daylight wanes, especially when the barometer falls in advance of the Dec. 3 and 8 weather systems.

If you are seeding your bedding plants under lights, lunar position in Pisces on Dec. 1-2 and in Taurus on Dec. 6-7 may increase the likelihood for improved sprouting.

Venus in Sagittarius is absent from the night sky this month. Mars comes up in Leo after midnight, moving near the center of the heavens by sunrise. Jupiter finally leaves Aries for Pisces high in the southwest at sundown. Saturn remains in Virgo, rising after midnight and moving almost overhead by sunrise.

The sun reaches a declination of 22 degrees, 22 minutes on Dec. 5, approximately 1 degree from its declination at winter solstice. The sun’s position will remain within a degree of solstice until Jan. 8, 2012, producing a period of solar stability similar to the one between June 4 and July 8.

Winter Solstice occurs on Dec. 22 at 12:30 a.m. The sun enters its deep winter sign of Capricorn at the same time.

All along the 40th Parallel, average highs fall three degrees this week into the lower 40s, and typical lows decline to the middle 20s. The first monthly cold front usually arrives between Dec. 1-3, bringing a 40 percent chance for rain or snow on Dec. 2-3.

Dec. 4-5 are dry two years in three; Dec. 6, however, usually anticipates the second high-pressure system of the month, and it is wet half the days in my record. Afternoons reach the 60s five percent of the time, but odds are far better for chilly afternoons in the 30s and 40s and lows well below freezing.

Dec. 1 is usually the brightest day of the week, with a 60 percent chance for sun; on the other days of this period, odds are better than 50/50 for clouds.

Zeitgebers for this week include the final losses of foliage on beeches and pears. Sometimes sweet gums and poplars keep a few leaves this late in the year; sometimes osage, mock orange and lilacs outlast all the other trees and shrubs.

Nov. 28: In the woods, second spring, the late greening of the undergrowth, is usually halted by November’s most bitter weather. The most stubborn leaves fall, and the heads of the thimble plants explode in the cold.

Nov. 29: Sunset reaches to within a few minutes of its earliest time of the year. Along the fencerows and in the woods, foliage of garlic mustard, sweet rocket, sedum, leafcup, henbit, hepatica and wild ginger hold on against the frost.

Nov. 30: The last bulb planting (including the garlic crop) and perennial transplanting should be done in anticipation of the arrival of early winter at the end of next week.

Dec. 1: The brittle leaves of the pear trees fall in the Midwest; that means ruby-red grapefruits ripen in Florida and start coming north for the holidays.

Dec. 2: The moon enters its second quarter today and is likely to soften the cold front due tomorrow. The first high-pressure system of December is normally one of the less violent fronts of the month, and the weak moon should keep it mild.

In the most gentle years, lettuce and spinach, covered with straw, are still edible in the garden. Carrots are still firm. Kale and collards are still providing greens. Garlic shoots are strong and green, but they’ve stopped growing and remain at their mid-November height. Sometimes, a few mums are still in bloom, providing color to the yard.

Dec. 3: When the very last leaves have been taken from the trees, then ducks have completed migration and below-zero lows remain a possibility until aconites and snowdrops bloom. And when great flocks of crows gather for the winter, then early spring is only eight weeks away, and red squirrels get white tufts on their ears.

Dec. 4: Orchard grass, goldenrod, foxtail, Queen Anne’s lace, parsnip, milkweed, bergamot, ironweed, jimson weed, mullein, yarrow, black-eyed Susan, burdock, cattail, dogbane and teasel are some of the most common plants still available for dried winter bouquets.