May 28-June 3, 2012 May I not serve, then, in Thy garden And in Thy fields and farm, Stirring the soil around the radishes And pulling rhubarb by the fence? Layering the Latham stems to make new growth For warm sweet berries born two seasons hence? -Janet Stevens
Lunar phase and lore The Black Swallowtail Moon passes through its second phase this week, becoming full on June 4 at 6:12 p.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the early morning, this moon moves overhead in the middle of the night, making midnight or noon prime times for eating and angling, especially as the barometer falls in advance of the May 29 and June 2 cool fronts.
Planting of all flowers and vegetables is recommended before the season advances much further, with preferred lunar conditions occurring when the moon comes into Scorpio June 1-3. Full moon on June 4 is likely to create extra lunar stress for health care workers, police and firefighters.
A partial eclipse of the moon will occur on June 4, visible throughout most of the central United States and Canada as the moon is going down.
Weather patterns
The first week of June brings a sudden end to the likelihood of highs in the 50s and 60s at average elevations along the 40th parallel. Chances for that kind of cold were around 30 percent last week; this week, chances for 60s fall to only 15 percent, and 50s are rare.
Temperatures rise into the 70s on 35 percent of the afternoons, into the 80s on 40 percent and into the 90s on 10 percent. After June 6, the likelihood of highs reaching into the 90s jumps to 20 percent. Only about 15 percent of the nights bring lows in the 30s or 40s.
Rainfall is usually lighter next week than this, and the sun shines more. Still, showers fall about 40 percent of the time each day, except for June 4, which has just a 30 percent chance, and June 6, historically one of the driest days of June, which has just a 15 percent chance for precipitation.
Zeitgebers of this week include cucumber beetles in the cucumber patch, hollyhocks and purple coneflowers open in the dooryards and blue chicory flowering in the waysides. Chiggers sometimes even start to bite, and Japanese beetles strike the roses.
Daybook
May 28: The moon enters its second quarter today, favoring a mild close to May. Cottonwood trees are in bloom, seeds floating through the countryside. Mulberries are ready to pick.
May 29: It’s pruning time, after flowering, for forsythia, quince, mock orange and lilac. Pollen from grasses reaches its peak in the central United States, as bluegrass, orchard grass, timothy, red top and Bermuda grass all continue to flower.
May 30: Channel catfish begin their summer feeding on mussels as the moon waxes. Yellow primroses, foxglove, pink and yellow achillea, late daisies, purple spiderwort and speedwell shine in the garden.
All across the nation’s midsection, there are hedges of white elderberry flowers, roadsides of violet crown vetch and great fields of gold and green wheat.
May 31: Spray for potato leafhoppers in the alfalfa, cucumber beetles in the vines, corn borers in the corn and mites in the roses. June 1: Most pie cherries ripen between now and the first days of July.
June 2: Cicadas emerge from the ground, leaving their exoskeletons on tree trunks.
June 3: The low-pressure system that accompanies the upcoming June 6 cool front initiates a four-day period during which there is an increased chance for tornadoes and flash floods. Wet weather is sometimes related to foot abscesses and foot scald, in which irritation appears between the toes of your animals.
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