March 26-April 1, 2012
I walked along the tracks ... at twilight through a warm rain, exhilarated not only by the rain but by the chorus of the frogs – peepers, spring cricket frogs, tree frogs, pond frogs and by the perfumes intensified by the rain – of opening leaves, old logs, the sloughs, the blossoming catkins of willows, alders and hazel scrub ... everything speaking with the shrill singing of the hylidae to sound the eternal theme of change and renewal, birth and death. -August Derleth
Lunar phase and lore Encouraging the appearance of butterflies and flowers, the Cabbage Butterfly Moon waxes into its second quarter on March 30 at 2:41 p.m. Rising in the morning and setting in the middle of the night, this moon lies overhead in the late afternoon to evening. Fishing should be most productive after supper or before dawn throughout the period, especially as the barometer drops in advance of the March 29 cold wave. Moving through Taurus on March 24-27 and Cancer on March 29-April 1, the moon will encourage sprouting and root development.
Weather patterns Seven major cold fronts move across the nation in April. Snow is possible in northern areas with the arrival of the first three fronts. Average dates for the weather systems to reach the Mississippi: April 2, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24 and 28.
Although the intensity of the high-pressure systems moderates after April 22, be alert for frost at least two days after each system pushes through your area. Most precipitation usually occurs during the first two weeks of the month.
April frost watch
Between April 1-June 1, up to dozen frosts occur at lower elevations along the 40th Parallel during a typical year. Of course, in some years, frosts end with March. Normally, however, the approximate chances for frost follow a regular and steadily declining trajectory through the end of May:
April l – 98 percent April 10 – 90 percent April 20 – 75 percent April 30 – 50 percent
Zeitgebers for this week include the first major flowering of woodland wildflowers. Buckeye, apple and peach trees leaf out.
Daybook
March 26: In the early days of spring, when the soil temperature reaches into the 50s, crabgrass germinates in the garden about the same time that yellow forsythia flowers and daffodils open. March 27: Leaves are starting to grow on skunk cabbage. Flickers are calling. Gold finches – their breasts turning yellow – are chasing each other through the leafing honeysuckles. Aconites, snowdrops and snow crocus have passed their best.
Termites are swarming. Garter snakes lie out sunning. Pollen and mold begin to become significant across the North as southern allergens drift up from the Gulf region with warming winds. March 28: Sweet corn planting time begins in the country’s midsection; corn is often knee-high or taller in the South. March 29: The last front of March typically brings storms all across the nation. In spite of the threat of violent weather, haying begins throughout many Southern states after this front passes. Transition your livestock slowly from the last of the old hay to the first of the new.
March 30: As the weather warms, Japanese beetle grubs move to the surface of the ground to feed. Hepatica comes into early bloom. Bloodroot opens in parklands when forsythia flowers in town. Ragweed sprouts, and cardinals now sing at 5:45 in the morning, 45 minutes earlier than they sang four weeks ago. Bluegrass billbugs may become active, laying eggs. Plan control now, then topdress your winter wheat.
March 31: Throughout the Ohio Valley, the first blue periwinkles open among last year’s fallen leaves.
April 1: Put in field corn, oats and barley, plant your rice crop and aboveground vegetable crops as the moon waxes (before full moon on April 6 and after new moon on April 21). Field corn seeding is in full swing throughout the South, the Plains, the Midwest and the East. Cotton planting begins along the Gulf. |
