Poor Will’s Almanack By Bill Felker Nothing that is can pause or stay; The moon will wax, the moon will wane, The mist and cloud will turn to rain, The rain to mist and cloud again, Tomorrow be today. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Fourth Week of Deep Summer The Week That Ragweed Pollen Arrives If your wake up early, watch the morning planets move across the eastern sky. And if you can’t sleep at all, see the stars of winter nights. This week’s night sky is the day sky of Middle Winter. The teapot-like star formation of Libra lies in the south, 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 in the north. The nights of July 28-29 bring the Delta Aquarids after 12 a.m. in Aquarius. This shower can bring up to 20 meteors in an hour.
In the Sky Phases of the Sycamore Bark Falling Moon July 21: The moon is full. July 27: The moon enters its final quarter.
Weather Trends Rain is a bit more likely this week than it was last week as chances for showers rise over the next seven days from 20 percent to 35 percent. Temperatures in the 80s occur more than 55 percent of the time, with 90s coming 35 percent. The coolest days of the period are typically the 22nd and 23rd of the month, when mild 70s are recorded about a fourth of all the years. The most consistent day of the period, and of the whole month, is the 24th when highs in the 80s come 95 percent of the time. The 23rd brings cool sleeping conditions more often than any night in July, a full 35 percent of the nights drop below 60 degrees.
The Natural Calendar A slight turning of the leaves is beginning on some of the redbuds, Virginia creepers, box elders, and buckeyes. Foliage of Japanese honeysuckle and the multiflora roses is yellowing. Catalpa beans are fat and long. There is a scent of August in the morning air, the smell of spent flowers and leaves. Mallow, Asiatic lilies and day lilies disappear in the garden as red, white and purple phlox flowers unfold. Lizard’s tail and wood nettle go to seed along the riverbanks. Average temperatures reach their peak throughout the region today. Averages remain at that level through the 28th of the month, after which they begin their descent, not only here but almost everywhere in the nation. May apples have toppled over, foliage dappled with yellow and brown. A few late enchanter’s nightshade plants still have tiny blossoms, but Early Summer’s honewort is gone. Pollen has disappeared from the clustered snakeroot. Some spicebushes and privets have green berries. The best of the morning bird chorus is often over now for the year. The cardinals still greet the dawn, but on many days, they stop singing after sunrise. Robin calls have lost their whinnies and singsong chirping. Swallows are migrating; they can sometimes be seen congregating on the high wires. When the mornings are cool, fog hangs in the hollows before dawn. Ragweed blooms throughout the southern states (and rides the wind to your yard). Yellowing locust leaves and brown garlic mustard give a sense of fall to the woods. Osage fruits drop to the ground. In the Field and Garden As the July Dog Days intensify, they will bring more Japanese beetles to the roses and leafhoppers to the potatoes, and aphids everywhere. Keep flowers and vegetables well watered and fed to help them resist the onslaught of the insects and weather. Mid-July rains may be causing soybean root rot and leaf yellowing. Burdock and catchweed cause problems in the pasture – it’s getting to be bur-time throughout the land. Keep carrots, oats, bran, iodized salt and good greens on hand to invigorate bucks as the breeding season opens. But keep male goats away from the legumes later in the season; that form of feed may cut down on fertility. Watch your animals after traveling long distances in the heat. Be sure they have plenty of attention, feed and water. All things being equal, animals (like people) may be more susceptible to disease after a traumatic trip than during their regular day-to-day life.
Countdown for Summer • One week until ragweed pollen floats in the wind • Two weeks until blackberries are ready for jam and brandy • Three weeks until aster and goldenrod time • Four weeks until the season of fall apples begins • Five weeks until hickory nutting time gets underway
No cats in the outhouse By Grace E. Sly, Fayette, Ohio There were as many varied sizes and styles of outhouses as there were families that used them. There were big ones, little ones, ramshackle ones, and some with low seats for the small folk. Our one neighbor had papered the wall with pictures from calendars and magazines, which was very interesting. Ours was a three-holer. Two of the three seat lids were round slabs of wood that were cut a little too large and did not fit well. The middle one was a perfect fit for the hole. Now one can admire fine craftsmanship, even in something so lowly. The two larger lids could be picked up easily, but the middle one required just a little pressure on one side to tilt it up. My brother Joe had enhanced our toilet further by drilling a hole in the side at eye level. This enabled anyone sitting there to marvel at the cars going by. He drilled another hole in the door, so anyone coming around the shed could be seen. Since “around the shed” wasn’t a high-traffic area, when I needed to use the facility, I left the door open. We had quite a few white cats, so I would invite one in so I could pet it. One day when I finished my business and was adjusting my clothes, I sat the cat down on the middle seat. The cat must have moved just the right way, and the cover flipped open. No cat. I was so amazed that I picked up the cover to observe the fate of the cat. Well, it was not in a good humor! And a white cat rocketing out from below a toilet seat is not a pretty sight. It was roowrah, fzztt!! And out the door it went. Then…I had to tell my mother. Did I get a jawing! Of course, the outhouse needed cleaning because of the mess. Dad never said much, and I think there was just a hint of a smile when he told me not to allow a cat in the outhouse again. Believe me, I didn’t! ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SCKRAMBLER CAKHS SHACK EUALPQ PLAQUE CAKS SACK VIBOAUC BIVOUAC GGNCOA GOGNAC QIRA IRAQ LDKAO KODAK KKKKNNCCIA KNICKKNACK KCAMS SMACK KACT TACK
THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER ANIRB ENAC INATNOC AIAERPLN IANRPS` EAONBDG INAMER PLNTNAAI ONIRDA NCRRHEAIU 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. Copyright 2024 – W. L. Felker |
