April 8-14, 2019 The seasons, like greater tides, ebb and flow across the continents. Spring advances up the United States at the average rate of about 15 miles a day. It ascends mountainsides at the rate of about 100 feet a day. It sweeps ahead like a flood of water, racing down the long valleys, creeping up hillsides in a rising tide. -Edwin Way Teale The Cows Switching Their Tails Moon enters its second quarter at 3:06 p.m. on April 12 and waxes into perigee (its position closest to Earth) on April 16 at 5:02 p.m. This moon passes overhead in the afternoon and evening, making that time the most auspicious for angling. Lunar tidal influence swells by April 15, and perigee increases chances of a killing frost throughout the northern half of the United States. Seeding of all vegetables that produce their fruit above the ground (including flowers), however, is favored by lunar position throughout the week. Weather trends Rain is the rule for April’s second quarter. After the third major high-pressure system passes through, however, a brief dry spell typically occurs on April 11-12, chances of precipitation falling to 25 percent. April 11 is often the brightest day in the first half of the month, bringing an 80 percent chance of sunshine, the best chances since March 7. As for temperatures, chances of highs below 50 degrees fall to less than 10 percent on April 11, where they remain until they drop to 5 percent on April 22. Milder highs above the 60s occur better than half the time on all the days of this quarter except on April 10, when cooler conditions typically prevail. Frost strikes an average of 30 percent of the nights. The natural calendar April 8: In the woodlands and parks, toad trillium, trout lilies, and Jacob’s ladder are ready to bloom. Hepaticas are blossoming, as are spring beauties, but twinleaf and bloodroot will fade quickly. Violets bloom in lawns throughout the area. April 9: Mounds begin to show on your lawn as moles wake up and hunt grubs and worms. Carpenter bees appear around the house and barn, looking for nesting sites. April 10: From now on, the chance of snow below the 40th Parallel rapidly decreases until it becomes only 1 in 100 by April 20. April 11: Mosquitoes bite you in the garden. Tent caterpillars begin to hatch on wild cherry trees. Pheasants and woodcocks are nesting in the woods and along the fencerows. April 12: Mulberry, locust, tree of heaven, viburnum, and ginkgo send out their first leaves. The white blossoms of decorative pear trees open throughout the lower Midwest. April 13: This week of the year, the handle of the Big Dipper comes far into the southern sky, and the pointers (the two stars of the Dipper’s cup farthest from the handle) are positioned almost exactly north-south after dark. April 14: Magnolias, redbuds, lilacs, dogwoods, cherries, peaches, apples, quinces, maples, and pears are almost always flowering near this date. Frogs and toads are mating; listen for their calls on warm evenings. Field and garden The first field corn is usually sown by the end of the week, and asparagus is up in the garden. First strawberries flower. Just six more weeks remain before frost-sensitive plants can be put outside without danger of being damaged by the cold. Grape vines begin to leaf, a sign that commercial cabbage planting is underway. Pasture plants often have an unusually high water content in April, and your animals may not get enough nutrition from this forage. Silage and hay supplements can take up the feeding slack. Wood mint is at least 8 inches tall, and sweet for tea. Chives are ready for salads. Pastures are filling with golden winter cress and purple henbit. New Year’s Day for immigrants from Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos takes place between April 14-17. The Asian market often favors animals in the 60- to 80-pound live weight range. In the countdown to summer, it is: •One week until tadpoles swim in the sloughs •Two weeks to morel season •Three weeks until clover blooms •Four weeks to the great warbler migration through the lower Midwest •Five weeks to the first strawberry pie •Six weeks until the first orange daylilies blossom •Seven weeks until roses flower •Eight weeks until the first mulberries are sweet for picking and cottonwood cotton drifts in the wind •Nine weeks until wild black raspberries ripen •10 weeks until fledgling robins peep in the bushes Best of the Almanac All Things Bright and Beautiful By Sara Beck Jeffersontown, Ky. Whenever I hear a whip-poor-will call, I am reminded of the summer I was a counselor at a Lutheran leadership camp at the campus of Centre College in Danville, Ky. Every evening we had a vesper service as we gathered on a hillside. A different pastor would lead the devotion, and this particular time, our young pastor, Tim, had the service. His lectern was located in a valley below us in a lovely wooded area. As I looked over the sea of young faces, I felt a great sense of reverence. Tim prayed, and we sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” The words went: “All things bright and beautiful/All creatures great and small/All things wise and wonderful/The Lord God made them all,” then Tim began his sermonette. He voiced a few words when a whip-poor-will began his call, “Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will!” The call continued, becoming louder and louder. Tim tried to compete but realized he could not outtalk that bird. He stopped speaking and we listened to the songster with its message. As I listened to the clear, measured sound in the warm summer air, I was struck in awe. I felt the presence of the Lord. Finally, the bird finished, and Tim just said, “Amen!” |
