When daffodils begin to peer

With hey the doxy over the dale,

Why then comes in the sweet o’ the year

And the red blood reigns in the winter’s pale. — William Shakespeare

The Moon and Stars

The Robin Mating Chorus Moon wanes through the period, becoming the Cows Switching Their Tails Moon at 9:31 p.m. on April 11. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening, this moon passes overhead in the middle of the day, encouraging creatures to feed around that time, especially as the cold front of April 11 approaches. 

Now Arcturus, the brightest star above you at bedtime, still hangs a little to the east of the center of the sky. But as that star shifts into the west, it pulls the chances of a freeze with it. When you check the sky and see Arcturus well into the west at 11:00 p.m., you should be able to plant any vegetable or flower you want. 

Weather Patterns

Chances of highs below 50 degrees fall to less than ten percent in April’s second week, where they remain until they drop to five percent on April 22. And milder highs above 60 occur better than half the time on all the days of this week except on the 10th, when cooler conditions typically prevail. And this year’s new moon on the 11th is likely to intensify the cold wave that often arrives near that date. Lows in the cold 20s are rare (just a five percent chance on the 17th and 18th), but light frost still strikes an average of one night in four. 

Zeitgebers

(Events in Nature that Tell the Time of Year)

House wrens migrate as velvety wild ginger leaves unfold on the hillsides. The wood grouse drums for his mate, and wood thrushes sing in the trees. Downy woodpeckers are mating. Newborn groundhogs have come out of their dens.

Hobblebush is leafing in the woods. Nettles are about half a foot tall in the pastures. Tadpoles swim in the pools and ponds. 

Columbines and bleeding hearts are bushy and nearly a foot tall. Rhubarb leaves are bigger than a big man’s hand. The grass is long enough to cut. Redbud branches turn violet as their buds stretch and crack. 

Privets are filling out. Branches of the multiflora roses are almost completely covered with foliage. Early tulips are at their peak. Virginia bluebells are in full bloom. Wild turkeys are gobbling. 

Deer are born and bullheads begin their spawning run. Wood ticks have emerged as far north as Minnesota. Along the beaches of the Northeast, piping plovers are returning to establish their nests.

Trees are in full flower throughout the Central Plains, the Northeast, the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. In the Southeast, all the grasses are coming into bloom. 

Countdown to Spring

• One week until the Great Dandelion and Violet Bloom begins

• Two weeks until azaleas and snowball viburnums and dogwoods blossom

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

• Four weeks until the beginning of clover time in yards and pastures

• Five weeks until the first orange day lily flowers

• Six weeks until roses bloom and thistles bud

• Seven weeks until the first strawberry shortcake

• Eight weeks until cottonwoods bloom and send their cotton through the air

• Nine weeks to the first mulberry pie

In the Field and Garden

Asparagus is up in the garden when toad trillium blooms in the woods and the first strawberries are in flower. Japanese beetle grubs move to the surface of the ground to feed as the weather warms. 

Sow sweet Cicely, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley in your pasture in order to increase your milk yield. Remember that a pasture that is unmanaged may provide more roughage than real nourishment.

About a fifth of Ohio River tobacco beds are seeded now. Average highs reach 60 in central Ohio and Indiana.

Mounds begin to rise in the lawn as moles wake up and hunt grubs and worms. Some sheep owners are putting their flocks to work cutting grass, controlling weeds and reducing the undergrowth in forests. 

Most weeds have sprouted by the middle of April. Walk new pastures looking for unfamiliar plants. 

After the April 11 high-pressure system crosses the several dry days often follow in its wake. This is the period during which you should try to complete all your early planting. Five more weeks remain until frost-free gardening in most of the region.

Almanack Favorites

A Seismological Alert

By Clarence Dinnen, Jamestown, Ohio

This story has been passed down to me by my mother. It is about her father, my grandfather. I have no recollection of my grandparents, as they died before or shortly after I was born. I was born in 1931 BC (before cholesterol).

My grandfather was an outdoorsman. He loved to hunt and fish. One of his favorite meals that he prepared was roast possum with sweet potatoes. My grandmother would not eat it.

He owned a farm in southern Ohio that had a small coal mine on it. It provided coal for his winter heat. One day, he was working in the mine and his coonhound came to the entrance and began barking and howling. The dog persisted and would not stop.

Grandfather thought the dog had a raccoon treed and came out of the mine to investigate. The dog stopped barking, jumped on him, and greeted him. 

Grandfather took out his pocket watch and saw it was almost time for dinner. He and the dog went to the house. He ate his noon meal and rested for a while.

When he returned to the mine, the whole hillside had caved in. The mine was buried, along with his tools. The dog sensed what was going to happen and saved my grandpa. He never forgot what a great dog he had.

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