If we see Nature as pausing, immediately all mortifies and decays;

but seen as progressing, she is beautiful. – Henry David Thoreau, Journal 1842

The Moon: The Wild Black Raspberry Moon fades through its final quarter this week, becoming the Blackberry Moon on July 17 at 2:33 in the afternoon. Rising in the early morning and setting in evening, this moon passes overhead in the middle of the day.

The Sun: By the third week of July, summer reaches as far north as it can go, then starts to slip away back to the Gulf of Mexico. The day’s length will soon become 150 seconds shorter every 24 hours.

The Planets: Venus and Mars in Leo continue as the Evening Stars in the far west after sundown.

The Stars: The sun’s powerful position in Cancer throughout the month is enhanced by the position of Sirius, the Dog Star, located almost due south at noon and contributing (according to tradition) to the hot Dog Days of Deep Summer.

Weather Trends: The period between July 13 and 15 brings cooler conditions in the 70s 25 percent of the years. On the other hand, highs above 100 are more likely to occur on July 15 and 16 than any other days of the lower Midwestern year. Nighttime lows typically remain in the 60s, but chilly 50s occur an average of 15 percent of the time.

The Natural Calendar: At the start of summer ebb tide, the land is on the early side of cicada song; fireflies are still vigorous, fawns a third grown, cattails still gold from pollen. A slight turning of the leaves begins on some of the redbuds, Virginia creepers, box elders and buckeyes. Foliage of Japanese honeysuckle and the multiflora roses often show patches of yellow. The first katydids begin singing after dark, and crickets intensify their song. Morning birdsong, however, quiets dramatically.

In the Field and Garden: The most intense period of heat stress now begins for summer crops. San Jose scale and flathead borers are active on flowering fruit trees. Farms plant double-crop beans after wheat harvest. Gardeners set out autumn collards, kale, cabbage and broccoli. Keep flowers and vegetables well watered and fed to help them resist the onslaught of the insects and weather.

Watch for brown spots in the lawn, signs of the sod webworm. Give plenty of water to the infected area. And don’t cut the lawn too short while the summer is at its hottest; let it rest a little longer than you would in June, and cut it high.

Mind and Body: Dog Day heat and the influence of the waxing Moon keep seasonal stress relatively high throughout the week. Give yourself plenty of time to accomplish tasks during this part of the month. If you are going on vacation, try to eliminate as many extra chores, side trips and activities as possible in order to maintain a low level of personal tensions – and allow you to deal with all the meteorological stress.

 

Almanack Classics

Cheepy, the Easter Chick

By Becky Corwin-Adams, Englewood, Ohio

Growing up in Defiance in the 1960s, one of our favorite places to go was G.C. Murphy’s on Clinton Street. Murphy’s used to sell live rabbits and chicks at Easter time.

One year, my sister and I talked Mom into getting each of us a baby chick for Easter. We named them Cheepy and Chirpy. We kept them in a box in our basement. My sister’s chick, Chirpy, only lived for about a week. My chick, Cheepy, soon grew into a rooster.

Cheepy outgrew the box in the basement. Dad built a pen in the garage for him. Cheepy crowed every morning. Dad was afraid the neighbors were going to get mad, since we lived in town.

Cheepy finally had to go live on my Grandma Corwin’s farm. Grandma had raised chickens for many years. Grandma still had some chickens at the time. After a while, Cheepy became very mean and tried to attack Grandma when she went near him. Grandma, who was no “Spring Chicken” herself, used a rubber garden hose to keep Cheepy at a safe distance so she could feed the other chickens. Every day, Grandma had to repeatedly beat Cheepy on the head with the hose so he would not attack her.

Finally, Grandma told my Dad she could no longer take care of Cheepy for us. He had gotten too mean in his old age.

Dad said we had to find a new home for Cheepy. No one wanted an old rooster. Cheepy was given to a farmer my Dad knew. I always wanted to go visit Cheepy at his new farm home, but Dad kept coming up with excuses every time I asked. A few years later, I realized Cheepy was probably Sunday dinner for the farmer and his family!

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SCKRAMBLER

EEEOLTHPN TELEPHONE

NOEOHPLXY XYLOPHONE

OOOEMHPNH       HOMOPHONE

ONEPOHIODR RADIOPHONE

ENOPHAAXS SAXAPHONE

LADAIPOHEN DIALAPHONE

RACOPHENO CARPHONE

ORCIMENOHP MICROPHONE

EOAEMGNPH MEGAPHONE

NHPREEOA EARPHONE

CTDIPAHOEN DICTAPHONE 

THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER

RIHTS

IRTKS

RTIQU

IRLTF  

RIDT

TROISQ  

REJK  

SIKRM  

KEPR  

RUTPS

KRUT

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. 

Follow the days of August with Bill Felker’s A Daybook for August that contains all of his daily almanack notes for that month. Order that and his other daybooks on Amazon.Copyright 2023 – W. L. Felker