April 11-17, 2011

April … the month of the swelling buds, the springing grass, the first nests, the first plantings, the first flowers … The door of the seasons first stands ajar this month, and gives us a peep beyond. The month in which to begin the world, in which to begin your house, in which to begin your courtship, in which to enter upon any new enterprise.
-John Burroughs

Lunar phase and lore
The Morel Mushroom Moon waxes through the week, entering its second quarter on April 11 and becoming full on April 17 at 9:44 p.m. Rising in the middle of the day and setting after midnight, this moon moves across the center of the sky early in the night.

Planting in the field and garden is recommended throughout the period. The moon leaves Leo for Virgo on April 14, enters Libra April 16 and Scorpio April 18. Of all those signs, Scorpio is the most favorable for seeds.
Since the moon will be overhead in the middle of the night, do your fishing then. Or, choose the second-best lunar time, when the moon is directly beneath your fishing hole, midday. All creatures should be even hungrier at those times, as the barometer falls in advance of cold fronts due on April 16 and 21.

Holidays & special occasions
April 13-15: New Year’s celebration for immigrants from Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Explore the possibility of marketing new lambs and kids to these communities.

April 19-25: Passover; the Jewish market typically is best after religious holidays come to a close. Milk-fed lambs below 60 pounds are favored for this market.

Weather patterns
From now on, the chance of snow below the 40th Parallel rapidly decreases until it becomes only 1 in 100 by April 20. After April 12 a definite increase in the possibility of warm weather takes place. Afternoons above 60 degrees occur three times more often between April 12-30 than between April 1-11.
The day prior to the arrival of the April 16 high-pressure ridge can be expected to carry rain or snow, and April 14-15 are often the wettest of all the month’s days. After this front, however, a major increase in the average daily amount of sunlight occurs: A rise from early April’s 50/50 chance for sun or clouds up to a brighter 70 percent chance for clear to partly cloudy conditions.

Chances for highs in the 80s continue to climb across the nation’s center, reaching the same frequency as in mid-October, by April 18.
Daybook

April 11: The effects of middle spring’s rising temperatures and longer days are always cumulative. Suddenly, the tree line is greening. Mulberry, locust, tree of heaven, viburnum and ginkgo send out their first leaves.

Lawn-mowing season is underway as Virginia bluebells come into full bloom and wild turkeys are gobbling. Red admiral butterflies join the azures, the cabbage whites and the comma butterflies in and around the garden.

 April 12: Deer are born near this date, and bullheads begin to spawn in ponds and lakes when the foliage of wild geranium is at least two inches high. Cowslip, trout lily, first strawberries, Greek valerian, thyme leafed speedwell, watercress, jack-in-the-pulpit, woodland phlox, ragwort, wild ginger, winter cress and mid season tulips bloom.

April 13: Pastures are filling with golden winter cress, purple henbit and dandelions. Blossoms could be out on a few strawberry plants, and hearts are forming on the bleeding heart. Pussy willow catkins have fallen.

April 14: Toads and frogs are mating. Budding time has arrived for peonies, meadow rue, large-flowered trillium, trout lily, Jacob’s ladder, ragwort and sedum. Bellwort leaves unravel. Hepatica, periwinkle, toad trillium, cowslip, rue anemone, shepherd’s purse, ground ivy, violet and small-flowered buttercup are now all in bloom.

April 15: Cherry trees bloom. Farmers have planted 35 percent of oats and about 5 percent of the field corn, in a typical year. The earliest grasshoppers and tadpoles swarm from their eggs. The first goslings are born. Tent caterpillars appear in the wild cherry trees. Aphids hatch, and ladybugs come looking for them.

April 16: Pink redbud flowers line the roads from northern Ohio and Indiana down through the Appalachians.

April 17: Average high temperatures reach 60 degrees throughout the lower Midwest. Summer’s jumpseed and zigzag goldenrod sport four to six leaves apiece. Comfrey and lily-of-the-valley are seven inches high. In the herb garden, wood mint is at least eight inches tall, and sweet for tea. Chives are ready for salads.

Poor Will’s Almanack for 2011 is still available; order your copy from www.poorwillsalmanack.net