June 17-23, 2019

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays:

Whether we look, or whether we listen,

We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.

-James Russell Lowell

The Milkweed Beetle Mating Moon wanes throughout the period, reaching apogee (its position farthest from Earth) on June 23 at 2:50 a.m. Rising at night and setting in the morning, this moon passes overhead before sunrise, favoring early mornings for angling.

On June 25, the moon enters its final quarter at 4:46 a.m. Lunar influence on weather and emotions will decline for the rest of the month.

Weather trends

The June 23 high-pressure system, the most significant front of the week, is typically cool and often puts an end to mid-June heat waves. It is often followed by some of the sunniest and driest days of the year.

Cooler conditions in the 70s or even the 60s are most likely to occur on June 23-24, as the front arrives, but then the afternoons usually warm to the 80s or 90s. As the next June front approaches, the benign effects of the June 23 system can be expected to give way to storms.

The natural calendar

June 17: In the gardens of town and country, lily season deepens as Asiatic and Oriental lilies join the day lilies in a crescendo of color that peaks in 4-5 weeks.

June 18: Cattails are showing their pollen as they grow in ditches and wetlands throughout the area.

June 19: Between June 19-23, the sun remains at its solstice declination of 23 degrees, 26 minutes, and the day’s length remains virtually unchanged.

June 20: Along rivers and the shores of ponds and lakes, lizard’s tail blooms, a sign that fireflies are peaking in summers with average rainfall. When long seedpods have formed on the locust trees, then annual cicadas start to chant. When you see the first black walnuts on the ground, then you know this year's ducklings and goslings are nearly full-grown.

June 21: Summer solstice occurs at 10:54 a.m. The sun enters the deep summer sign of Cancer at the same time.

June 22: When the wheat harvest begins, bright orange butterfly weed reaches full bloom and acorns become fully formed. Sycamore bark starts to shed, and thistle flowers change to down. Hemlock season is complete, stalks collapsing into the tall grasses.

June 23: Poison ivy has green berries. The first touch-me-nots and the first thimble plants are flowering. Wild garlic is blooming. Rugosa roses are in full flower, accompanied by black-eyed Susans, wild petunias, and hobblebush.

Field and garden

Flea beetles, damselflies, and leafhoppers become active and crickets sing as locust trees flower and snapping turtles lay their eggs. Nine out of 10 soybeans are typically in the ground this week, as Japanese beetles begin to threaten all kinds of crops and flowers. Six to eight leaves have emerged on field corn.

Strawberry season ends as domestic red raspberries and wild black raspberries ripen. Commercial broccoli and squash harvests, as well as cherry picking, are underway, as at least 10 percent of the winter wheat is ripe. Thistles go to seed as corn borers eat the corn and the earliest soybeans bloom.

Watch for mold in the hay stall when humidity levels rise dramatically toward the end of the month. Be sure grain is kept in clean containers and secure from summer rodents and marauding goats.

In the countdown to late summer, it is:

•One week until cicadas chant in the hot and humid days

•Two weeks until thistles turn to down

•Three weeks until sycamore bark starts to fall, marking the center of deep summer

•Four weeks to the season of singing crickets and katydids after dark

•Five weeks until ragweed pollen floats in the wind

•Six weeks until blackberries are ready for jam and brandy

•Seven weeks until aster and goldenrod time

•Eight weeks until the season of fall apples begins

•Nine weeks until the corn harvest gets underway

Best of the Almanac

Words As a Diet

By Linda Warren

Irving, Ill.

Our farm is a menagerie of critters. We have two kinds of sheep, Barbados and Jacob. We have one very large Barbados ram that rules the farm. He has a double curl on his horns and looks treacherous. All of us, including the animals, leave Mr. Big Horn alone.

While taking some prospective buyers out to look at our Great Pyrenees puppies, we passed around the ram pen. I was relating how ornery this ram was and how it would be better to go around, not through, the pen.

It was to my great embarrassment that lying right in front us was the mean Mr. Big Horn with a huge rooster perched on top of his head. Needless to say, I ate those words!