By WILLIAM FELKER
Poor Will's Almanack Oct. 19-25, 2015 Vermillion Maples,
afternoons troubled by gangs
of Yellow Jackets. -John Blakelock Lunar phase and lore The Deer Mating Moon waxes throughout the period increasing the likelihood that deer (as well as sheep and goats) will mate. It enters its second quarter on Oct. 20 at 3:31 p.m., reaches perigee, its position closest to Earth, on Oct. 26 and becomes full the following day at 7:05 a.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting before dawn, this moon encourages activity in fish and game in the middle of the night, especially as the cold fronts of Oct. 23 and 30 approach. Plan to do your final planting of the year this week when lunar position is in Pisces, Oct. 23-25, and in Taurus, Oct. 27-29. Weather trends Average high temperatures sink below 60 degrees throughout the area for the first time since the middle of April. Average lows plummet to near 40. The days this week most likely to bring a killing frost all occur between Oct. 25-29 – thanks to lunar perigee and the full moon. The natural calendar Oct. 19: Peak maple color usually continues until Oct. 23. Oct. 20: The day’s length falls below 11 hours. Oct. 21: Cicadas are quiet in the cooler and cloudier days. Cricket songs grow weaker in the chilly evenings. Katydids no longer fill the nights. Oct. 22: The pointers of the Big Dipper are aligned north and south at 9 p.m. Oct. 23: Today is Cross Quarter Day, the halfway mark between autumn equinox and winter solstice. The sun enters Scorpio at the same time. Within a little more than a month of equinox, the sun has traveled half the distance to winter. Oct. 24: Most of the leaves of the high canopy in parks and woodlots have fallen or will come down in the next five days. Oct. 25: Commuters and travelers will notice the rapid browning of the tree line. |
