Dec. 21-27, 2009

The world is porous. God is everywhere. Intention is life. Soul is flesh. Winter is nurture. Presence enfolds. Step is communion. Touch is thanksgiving. The dead are alive.

-Hepatica Sun, The Skunk Cabbage Manifesto
The astronomical outlook

The Tufted Titmouse Moon, entering its second quarter on Dec. 24 at 12:36 p.m., waxes throughout the period, becoming the full Blue Moon (the second full moon this month) on Dec. 31 at 2:13 p.m.
At bedtime, find Taurus right in front of giant Orion. Then, look behind Orion for the two bright stars of Castor and Pollux, the anchors of Gemini. Behind Gemini, almost like a person walking, comes Cancer. On the far eastern horizon, the largest star is Regulus, which tells you that you are looking at the constellation of Leo.

The weather

Christmas is typically the brightest day of the week, bringing a 70 percent chance for sun. Dec. 28 is the darkest day of the month’s fourth week, with a 70 percent chance for clouds.
Snow falls (well, at least there are flurries) half the time on Christmas Eve and on the two days before New Year’s Day. Dec. 26 is typically the coldest day of the week and has a 40 percent chance for highs just in the teens or 20s.

Almanac daybook

Dec. 21: Pruning time gets under way as average highs in your area drop into the 30s; it continues until highs climb once again past 40. Take out suckers, dead and crossing branches. Cut fruit trees down to the right level for picking, but don’t prune what will bloom before June.

Dec. 22: The period of winter stability is setting in. Average high temperatures fluctuate only about 2-3 degrees between Dec. 21 and the approach of early spring in the third week of February.
Dec. 23: Mark the deepest entry of the sun through one of your south windows today. A pencil mark on the floor or wall will provide a comforting measure of the advance of spring, as the sun recedes (as it grows higher in the sky) during the months ahead – not only in your home, but in all of North America.

Dec. 24: The sun begins its ascent toward June today, shifting from a declination of 23 degrees, 26 minutes to 23 degrees, 25 minutes. This is the first day of the season of the rising sun, a period which divides the year into two equal halves and which lasts until the sun stops at its highest point above the horizon between June 19-23, and then begins to fall back toward winter solstice on June 24.

Dec. 25: Across coastal Georgia, sweet gums and yellow poplars finally lose their leaves, and their buds swell almost immediately to replace the loss. In central Florida, red maples open and Jessamine produces its yellow blossoms.

Dec. 26: The weather typically calms as high pressure builds five to six days after winter solstice. The moon’s relatively weak position for the next few days should complement the weather, making this weekend a quiet and maybe even restful period to work with your family, sheep and cattle.

Dec. 27: Milder December weather near the Great Lakes may open pussy willows and draw up snowdrops, crocus and aconites as the days expand, but along the Gulf of Mexico, the sun is already shortening the dormancy of trees and shrubs, hurrying the gestation of spring.

Mind and body clock

The S.A.D. Index (on a scale of 1-75) remains in the low 70s throughout the remainder of 2009. A private schedule – which might include exercise, keeping a journal, a reasonable diet, prayer or meditation and scheduled daily personal time – will help you weather seasonal challenges to your mind and body.

Fish, game, livestock and diet

With the full moon overhead after dark, hunt and fish at the second-best lunar time, when the moon is directly below the region – that would be close to lunchtime all week. If you can get away from the mall, try the woods and water as the skies cloud up in front of the Christmas cold front, and then a day or two before the arrival of 2010.

Dieters should beware of a fruitcake attack if they awaken in the middle of the night.

Almanac classics
The Secret Surprise
By Mabel Mohler
Napoleon, Ohio

This Christmas story first appeared in the Almanack in 1998. Its surprise still brings a smile.

The hardest I ever laughed was years ago, when I belonged to a card club. We had “secret sisters” and often ate out.
One Christmas, one of our members was hostess, and she suggested we wear formal dresses to our get-together and pay $3 for our secret’s gift. Since $3 was a lot of money back then, we were to tell what we wanted. After much dental work, just for fun, I said that I wanted new dentures.

That night, when my beautifully wrapped gift arrived, it either jumped or fell from my lap … and then it started clicking across the carpet! My secret sister had bought me toy dentures that jumped around biting, and she had wound them up before she wrapped them. When I touched them, I must have set them off.
We all laughed so hard, especially me, that the next day, my abdominal muscles were still sore. It was a year before I knew who did it. Several of us are still living – and still laugh.

The Almanack will pay $3 for any original, unusual animal or family story. Send your tale to: Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.

Poor Will’s Almanack for 2010 is now available. Send $16 (includes shipping and handling) for each copy to: Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. For more information and to see a sample of this year’s format (or to order with a credit card), visit http://poorwillsalmanack.com