There comes a fuzzy time then, when the berry picking mixes with the end of hay gathering and the beginning of late summer and everything seems to fall into a stew. Dog days, when the dog literally will not move from beneath the porch and the weather, come down hot and muggy so the teams of horses stand in sweat even then they are not working. – Gary Paulsen

The Moon: The Wild Black Raspberry Moon waxes through its second quarter this week, becoming, full at 7:40 a.m. on July 3, then reaching perigee, its position closest to Earth, on July 4.

The Sun: The Dog Days of Deep Summer typically begin near this date and last through the middle of August’s second week. In those six to seven weeks, approximately an hour is lost from the day’s length along the 40th Parallel, and the year turns toward autumn. Throughout the week ahead, however, the sun remains within just half a degree of its position at summer solstice.

At 10:36 a.m. on July 6, the Earth reaches aphelion, the point at which it is its greatest distance from the Sun. Aphelion occurs almost exactly six months from perihelion, Earth’s position closest to the Sun.

The Planets: Venus and Mars in Leo are the evening stars in the far west after sundown. Jupiter in Aries rises after midnight and travels high in the sky by dawn. Saturn arrives in the evening sky with Aquarius in the southeast and follows the southern stars throughout the night.

The Stars: The parallelogram formation of Libra is prominent in the southwest, followed by Scorpius and its red center, Antares. Sagittarius, the Archer, follows the Scorpion in the southeast. Above the Archer, the Milky Way sweeps up toward Cassiopeia.

Weather Trends: The cool fronts of Deep Summer normally cross the Mississippi River around July 6, 14, 21 and 28. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods or prolonged periods of soggy pasture are most likely to occur within the weather windows of July 3 through 7, July 18 through 23. Full moon on July 3 is expected to trigger the thunderstorms of the Corn Tassel Rains.

The Natural Calendar: July offers more wildflower seasons than any other month of the year. Led on by the ubiquitous black-eyed Susans, flowers such as purple loosestrife, Queen Anne’s lace, purple coneflower, wild petunia, bouncing Bet, blue dayflower, white vervain, sow thistle, pokeweed, St. John’s wort, teasel and wild lettuce (among so many others) dominate the fields.

In the shade of the canopy, July is the time of wood mint, wood nettle, leafcup, touch-me-not, lopseed and avens. The best part of black raspberry season ends as the summer apple harvest gets underway. Roadside grasses brown in the sun like the winter wheat.

Birds continue to feed their young. Watch for the fledglings to flutter their wings, begging for food. Late this week, the first cicadas (or harvest flies) of the year begin to chant. Making way for cicada calls, morning birdsong continues to diminish.

In the Field and Garden: Lily season is underway throughout the region: spray flower buds with deer repellant to save the flowers. Dig your garlic before the heads begin to separate. Detassel corn, harvest winter wheat, complete the first cut of alfalfa, and begin the second cut. In the garden, plant sweet William and forget-me-not seeds for next year’s blossoms. When the first black walnuts start to fall, renovate strawberry beds, cutting off tops above the crown, then fertilize.

In the pastures, be alert for standing water from the upcoming Corn Tassel Rains that may encourage parasite infestation. And check your hogs: if you keep them inside, they need plenty of ventilation and sometimes a good hosing down to keep them cool.

Mind and Body: The days closest to Independence Day bring a variety of new influences to humans and other creatures. As the Dog Star, Sirius, follows Orion to the middle of the sky around noon, it marks the beginning of the warmest and most humid time of year, increasing the likelihood of heat stress. Although the sun still travels high in the sky, a subtle shift in the season has begun, quieting morning birdsong, initiating cicada and cricket time. Even if you hide inside your air-conditioned car and home, the changes influence the way you think as you “batten down the hatches” against the uncomfortable weather and the mosquitoes.

Almanack Classics

Kung Fu Chicken

By Susan Perkins from Hardtimes Farm, Ky.

My son Jake is now 34 years old. It seems only yesterday, he and his best friend Vance were jumping out from behind every tree and bush, grabbing a family member and practicing the latest Bruce Lee move. It was a minor nuisance for several years till they moved on to girls and cars.

Jake used his moves seriously for the first time when he was 5 years old, and visiting his grandma and grandpa Perkins in Kentucky.

Grandpa and Grandma still had an outhouse in 1975. Proudly it stood, out past the oil tank, beyond the tall walnut trees, and past the ground the three ninja roosters claimed as their own.

Early one morning, duty called and Jake could ignore it no longer. He slipped out the front door, following the worn path around the small clapboard house.

Suddenly, from behind the stand of orange blooming day lilies, jumped the three ninjas, the biggest white roosters in Kentucky. Spurs sharpened and ready, they surrounded Jake, with their necks stretched as far as they would go, wings down in the fight stance.

While drinking my coffee at the kitchen table, the morning was shattered by the screaming of my name, “MOM! MOM!”

I ran to the nearest window facing the path, and there was Jake, stick in hand swinging and spinning for all he was worth.

Jake’s stepdad, Curt, ran out and joined the fight, kicking the roosters till they gave up and ran back to the safety of the weeds.

I think this was the start of Jake’s Kung-Fu years. He gave new meaning to “Walk tall and carry a big stick.”

 

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S 

SCKRAMBLER

DZZLAE DAZZLE

LEZRAZF FRAZZLE

ZELFIZR FRIZZLE

RDZILZE DRIZZLE

ELZZIRG GRIZZLE

ZISEZL SIZZLE

UELZMZ MUZZLE

PUZEZL PUZZLE

GELZUZ GUZZLE

UNELZZ NUZZLE

THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER

KKCI

CITK

CCLKI

CKHIC

CILK

LIFKC

ICSLK

KCIRP

IUCQK

KICW

 CIKHT

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. Yes, you are a genius.

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Follow the days of July with Bill Felker’s A Daybook for July in Yellow Springs, Ohio, that contains all of his daily almanack notes for that month. Order that and his other daybooks on Amazon.

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Copyright 2023 – W. L. Felker