At dawn the chorus begins. I awake early, and from my bed listen to the announcement of spring, and count the number of bird songs I can hear. — Eliot Porter

Astronomical Information

The Great Groundhog Moon wanes throughout the period, becoming the Robin Mating Chorus Moon on March 13 at 5:21 a.m. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening this moon passes overhead throughout the day, telling the robins to sing, and encouraging creatures to be most active, especially as the cold front approaches near March 14. Lunar apogee, the moon’s position farthest from Earth, occurs at 12:00 a.m. on March 18.

Mars moves retrograde from Aries to Taurus in March, and it continues to be the red Evening Star in the western sky. Another red object in Taurus is Aldebaran, the brightest star of the Hyades constellation within Taurus. On the evening of March 22, Mars and Aldebaran will appear to be almost side by side in the far west. Aldebaran will be the twinkling red object.

On March 14, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Set clocks ahead one hour.

Weather Trends

March’s second quarter brings a major pivot in the year’s weather patterns as the rate of Spring’s advance quickens. Odds for milder weather increase with every sunrise, and chances for an afternoon above 50 degrees rising to 40 percent by the end of the week. 

Frost strikes the early garden 60 percent of all the nights, however, and there is still a five to ten percent chance each day this week for a high only in the 20s. The end of March’s second week, especially the 9th through the 14th (and with new moon on the 13th) brings an increased chance for extreme weather. Tornadoes struck Ohio during this period in 1917 and 1986, floods in 1907 and 1964. Deep cold invaded the Ohio Valley in 1948 and 1984. 

Zeitgebers

 (Events in Nature that Tell the Time of Year)

Water striders appear on the 

ponds and sloughs, and woolly bear caterpillars come out from winter hibernation. 

Red-tailed hawks, the horned grebe, the common snipe, all types of gulls, and black ducks migrate. 

Horseradish leaves stretch out to an inch or two, and rhubarb is up to four or five inches. Honeysuckle buds unravel on the lowest branches. 

Bleeding hearts push their heads from the ground as day lily leaves reach to the top of your boots, and snow trillium blossoms appear in the bottomlands. 

The full spring robin chorus begins before sunrise. Male red-winged blackbirds sing in the swamps as females join them in their nesting areas. 

Crows pair up. Purple martins arrive. Winter juncos depart. Peregrine falcons lay their eggs. Bald eagle chicks hatch. White tundra swans land along Lake Erie. 

The migration period for Canadian geese peaks. Ducks arrive from the South. Fish become more active as the water gradually warms in the sun. 

Countdown to Spring

• One week to the first wave of blooming woodland wildflowers and the very first cabbage white butterflies

• Two weeks until golden forsythia blooms in town and skunk cabbage sends out its first leaves in the wetlands

• Three weeks until the blooming of Middle Spring wildflowers in the woods

• Four weeks until American toads sing their mating songs in the night.

• Five weeks until the Great Dandelion and Violet Bloom begins

• Six weeks until azaleas and snowball viburnums and dogwoods bloom

• Seven weeks until iris and poppies and daisies come into flower

• Eight weeks until the beginning of clover bloom in yards and pastures

• Nine weeks until the first orange day lily flowers

• Ten weeks until roses bloom in town and thistles bud in the fields

Mind and Body

The S.A.D. Index, which measures seasonal stress on a scale from 1 to 100, rises as the moon darkens, reaching a high 68 on March 12 and 13. It then falls into the gentle 40s by St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. For full S.A.D. statistics, consult Poor Will’s Almanack for 2021.

In the Field and Garden

This is a great lunar time for setting out pansies, cabbages, kale, collards and Brussels sprouts, and for seeding lettuce and spinach, too.

It never hurts to put a few corn and tomato seeds directly into the ground in the middle of March. You never know when the spring will develop into the warmest on record. If you make a few feet of experimental plantings every few days, you will probably be the one with the earliest of everything, no matter what the weather is. 

Transplant shade and fruit trees, shrubs, grape vines, strawberries, raspberries, and roses while the ground temperature remains in the 40s and 50s. Complete all field planting preparations.

Your mares may come into heat as the day’s length nears twelve hours. Be sure they are up to date on their vaccinations. Check for bot eggs.

When the Great Dandelion Bloom is over, expect bees to swarm within two or three weeks.

New Year’s celebrations for immigrants from Cambodia, Thailand and Laos begin in a month. Earmark your lambs and kids for this market now.

Set flats of pansies and hardy vegetables out of doors on milder days to harden them for late March or early April planting.

Warm-weather crops such as tomatoes and peppers could be ready to set out on the first of May if you start them this week under lights. 

On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), tradition suggests you plant peas and potatoes as conditions permit. This is also the time to watch for termites to swarm near old barns and outbuildings. 

Almanack Classics

The Lost Chicken and Dumplings

By Eunice Hicks, Willard, Ohio

My sister, Berta, and Aron Shephard got married in Prestonsburg, Ky., our hometown. Mom planned a big wedding for them. She killed her big fat hen, and she made a big kettle of chicken and dumplings.

There were a lot of people there that day for the wedding. Mom had the table set with a big lace tablecloth, and everything looked pretty. Then Mom said, “You all come to the table.” 

When everybody had come, Mom looked around and said to Dad, “There’s two missing, my brother William and his wife, Leda May.”

Dad found them in the living room and asked, “Why aren’t you two at the table?

“Oh,” one of them said, “we aren’t hungry right now. You all eat, and we’ll eat later.”

“All right then, “Dad said, there’ll be plenty left when you get hungry.”

Mom looked around and Dad sat down; then Mom said, “Something is missing. Oh, I know,” she said, “it’s the chicken and dumplings. Oh I can’t believe I could miss putting the chicken and dumplings on the table!”

Mom got up and walked to the cook stove. Mom said to Dad, “The chicken and dumplings are gone! Who on Earth would take them?”

Dad walked into the living room. William and his wife were sitting back in the corner with spoons just stuffing their mouths full of chicken and dumplings. 

Dad was so mad he drew back his fist to hit Mom’s brother, but Mom grabbed Dad’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s finish eating,” and he said to both of them, “I don’t want either of you to ever put foot on my land again.” 

Then Mom’s brother said, “We were only playing a joke on the newlyweds!”

But they left and didn’t come back to our house for a long time. When they did come back, though, Dad and William shook hands, and from then on they were good friends. Happy ending.

Poor Will Needs Your Stories!

Poor Will pays $4 for unusual and true farm, garden, school animal and even love stories used in this column Send yours to Poor Will’s Almanack at the address below.

Answers To Last Week’s Sckrambler

In order to estimate your Sckrambler IQ, award yourself 15 points for each word unscrambled, adding a 50-point bonus for getting all of them correct. If you find a typo, add another 15 points to your IQ.

EREB BEER

AREY YEAR

REIT TIER

EEAHDR ADHERE

RIMA AMIR

ETRA TEAR

EREV VEER

REILAVAC CAVALIER

EARPAPDIS DISAPPEAR

ERETNULOV VOLUNTEER

EEERRV REVERE

This Week’s Rhyming Sckrambler

SSEM

SESRTS

SESRIGD

XCSSEE

ESESNIF

EIRPNCSS

SESECR

SSERGSNART

WDLRNSESEI

SSSHHPDREEE

GERSERS  

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Copyright 2021 - W. L. Felker