July 30-Aug. 5, 2012

It is the floral solstice a little after mid-summer, when the particles of golden light, the sundust, have, as it were, fallen like seeds on the earth and produced these blossoms. On every hillside, and in every valley, stood countless asters, coreopses, tansies, goldenrods and the whole race of yellow flowers, like Brahminical devotees, turning steadily with their luminary from morning till night.

-Henry David Thoreau

The Monarch Butterfly Moon becomes full at 10:27 p.m. on Aug. 1. Rising in the evening and setting in the morning, this moon is overhead in the middle of the night.

When the moon moves above you, it is thought to be most powerful: fish often bite more at that time, and dieters experience more problems. Lunar influence should be strongest at night when the cool front of Aug. 4 approaches, pushing down the barometer.

Tidal and lunar influences have been shown to be greater at full moon and new moon times. You might expect more trouble with your flock, herd, spouse, parents or children, therefore, on or about Aug. 1, 17 and 31.

Since the moon may exert less influence on ocean tides and on human and animal behavior when it comes into its second and fourth quarters, it might make more sense to transport your animals or perform routine maintenance on your livestock on or about Aug. 9 and 24.

Fish, game, livestock and people tend to feed more and are more active as the barometer is falling 1-3 days before the weather systems that arrive near the following dates, dates on which cold fronts normally reach this area: Aug. 4, 10, 17, 21 and 29.

August 6, 2012, is Jamaican Independence Day. Demand may increase for older lambs and kids up to 65 pounds at this time.

The Dog Days usually continue next week of the year throughout the country, the daily possibility of highs in the 80s and 90s remaining near July levels. Aug. 3, 4 and 5 are the last days of the summer on which there is a full 40 percent chance of highs in the 90s, and chances for highs in the 80s are steady at around 50 percent.

Cool days do occur 15-25 percent of the years, and afternoons only in the 60s are occasionally recorded between Aug. 2-11. Morning lows are typically in the 60s, although one-fourth of the nights carry temperatures into the middle 50s. August’s wind speed is the lowest of the year, and humidity is the highest, an average of about 80 percent after sundown.

Zeitgebers of this week include an increase in the number of spider webs as spiders prepare for winter, the appearance of yellow jackets in windfall summer apples, the first ragweed pollen and the blooming of August and September sedum.

Pollen counts tend to rise throughout the country next month, thanks to the flowering of ragweed. On a scale of 0-700 grains per cubic meter, the pollen count climbs from about 35 on Aug. 1 to 300 on Aug. 31.

July 30: When wild cherries darken on the wild cherry trees, then expect potato leafhoppers to be causing serious damage to your potatoes.

July 31: Tomorrow’s full moon may be a factor in the start estrus cycling in ewes and does.

Aug. 1: When watermelons are ripe and firefly season comes to a close, then cut the last of your oats and put in your fall peas.

Aug. 2: Butterflies become more common this week of the year, monarchs appearing more often, and another generation of cabbage moths, swallowtails and skippers is seeking nectar. Sometimes giant imperial moths come out to seek the lights of the city.

Aug. 3: Blackberry season and ripe grape time have moved into the Ohio Valley as black walnut trees yellow and drop their leaves. Stonecrop plants flower in the garden as meadowlark migration season and ruby-throated hummingbird flocking season get under way.

Aug. 4: Consider making corrective lime and fertilizer applications for August and September seeding.

Aug. 5: This is the time that all the spiders in the woods weave their final webs. The katydids, which started to sing last week, now chant through the night. Cicadas fill the afternoons.