By Bill Felker The obvious truth is that Summer is past. The season merges with Autumn. The winesap reddens on the bough. The cricket chirps in the corner. The equinox is only a confirmation. – Hal Borland The Second Week of Early Fall The Moon, the Stars and the Sun The Starling Murmuration Moon wanes throughout the week, entering its final quarter on Sept. 17 at 2:52 pm. and reaching apogee, its gentle position farthest from Earth, at 10 p.m. on the 19th. In the middle of the night and setting in the early afternoon, the moon passes overhead in the morning. The sun’s apparent descent continues at the rate of approximately one degree every two days, reaching a declination of +2 degrees 57 minutes on the 15th. At equinox, the declination is 0. The Big Dipper is as good a clock as any to tell the time of year. These nights of autumn, the Dipper lies along the northern horizon. In the center of winter, it is located in the east, its pointers pointing directly east west. In the spring, the Big Dipper is overhead, and when it is in the west, it announces summer. Weather Trends The Sept. 15 weather system is accompanied by increased chances for much cooler afternoon high temperatures (highs sometimes just in the 50s in the northern states). After Sept. 15, highs in the 70s are more likely to occur than highs in the 80s, and an afternoon in the 60s is four times as likely to be recorded as during the first week of the month. Weak lunar position between full and new moon, however, may encourage frost to stay away. The equinox front often brings a likelihood of frost as it departs east, and new moon on the 25th will increase the chances for colder-than-normal temperatures. At average elevations along the 40th Parallel, the chances of a light freeze to have occurred are now about 30 percent, close to 50 percent across the northern states and at higher elevations. Zeitgebers: Events in Nature that Tell the Time of Year Field thistles and tall coneflowers continue to bloom in the fields. Leaves are falling onto the woodland trails, and the cover overhead is spotted with new color. Sycamores are turning golden green, some dogwoods yellowing. American mountain ash, with its deep orange fruit, stands out wherever it grows. Berries are red on the silver olives. Purple berries hang on all the pokeweed. Scarlet Virginia creeper outlines the tree trunks. Wingstem is still holding in the woods. Touch-me-nots and jumpseed are fading. Some white snakeroot has gray seeds, even green berries. More and more Queen Anne’s lace has turned to dark brown seeds. Hog peanuts are past their prime. Most burdock plants are dying back, yellow and brown. Acorns and hickory nuts are common on the paths. Some rose hips are red. Sandhill cranes start to arrive in Midwestern wetlands on their way to the Gulf coast. Doves usually stop calling in the morning until February. Young toads appear in cooler evenings. As lake and reservoir water temperatures drop into the lower 70s and 60s, bass and walleye become more active. In the Field and Garden Alfalfa stops growing after a severe frost, but late-autumn pastures should keep on developing until temperatures remain close to 30 degrees. Wean summer lambs (and children) when the moon enters its weak fourth quarter. Lambs weaned under a weak moon may protest far less than if you wait until new or full moon. In northern counties, the planting of winter wheat begins. To the south, tobacco is about two-thirds cut. The equinox cold front is a pivot point for the days to fall below 12 hours. You may want to turn on a low-wattage light bulb in the chicken house to counter the effects of the shortening days on egg production. Shorter days also contribute to hormonal fluctuations in many mammals and to estrus in sheep and goats. Mind and Body As you track your body and mind’s reaction to the change of seasons, pay attention to circaseptans cycles – that is, seven-day patterns that roughly follow the moon’s seven-day phases. Blood pressure and heart rate often take seven days to adjust to major schedule changes (like starting school). Colds often are about seven-days long. The S.A.D. Index, reflecting mild weather and the weak waning moon, remains on your side, staying in the 20s and 30s throughout the period, encouraging outdoor activities, late vacations and picnics. *** Almanack Literature A Bull Is Nothing to Play With By Andy S. Weaver, West Salem, Ohio It was Sunday morning, and we didn’t know what was in store for us later that day. When we came home from church, we went to do chores. Dad and Mom started to milk the cows and I started to feed the cattle when I saw that the bull was by the little calves. So I told Dad, and he wanted to put the bull in his pen. He tried, but the bull wouldn’t budge. So he threw a stone at him. And then the bull turned around in a flash and charged toward Dad and rolled him over and over and crushed his heel. Finally, Dad crawled through the barn gate and escaped. I remember when it happened. Us children screamed all we were worth, And Uncle John got the pressure washer and gave the bull some pink marks. *** Send your memory stories to Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Five dollars will be paid to any author whose story appears in this column. *** 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. LSSEIM SMILES SELIM MILES LESIG GILES IESLT TILES PSLIE PILES YESSTL STYLES IAESSL AISLES DALIS DIALS ERILS RILES FLSIE FILES THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER MOHW UEMLP OMOD OOMRB EUEMSR OMOB EUMF EEUPRSM OLOBM EUEMFRP OBROEDM Copyright 2022 – W. L. 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