March 29-April 4, 2010
Now fades the last long streak of snow;
Now burgeons every maze of quick
About the flowering squares, and thick
By ashen roots the violets blow.
-From Alfred Tennyson’s “Spring”
Lunar phase and lore The Golden Goldfinch Moon, continuing to color the finches, wanes through its third phase this week, entering its final quarter on April 6 at 5:37 a.m. Rising after dark and setting after sunrise, this moon is overhead in the middle of the night.
Don’t get out of bed after midnight. A Twinkie is lurking in the hallway under the hungry moon; why? Because when the moon is above you in the middle of the night, it has a tendency to make you want to eat. Of course, if you always want to eat in the middle of the night, you can stop worrying about the moon.
With the moon overhead in the dark, lunar fishing will be best after midnight. That means you should probably choose the second best time to look for crappies, right after lunch, when the sun has warmed the water. Fishing should be especially rewarding at the approach of the March 29 and April 2 and 6 cold fronts.
Since the moon is waning, this will be an excellent week for seeding root crops. It will also be perfect for getting in shrubs and trees. But be especially careful of abortions in livestock (and people) during the moon’s third quarter, the quarter during which most complications in pregnancy are said to occur.
Jupiter and Venus remain the morning stars in April, and Saturn continues to traverse the night in Virgo. Mars is still in Cancer, slowly drifting retrograde toward Leo.
Orion’s progress into the west in the late evening sky measures the approach of spring as well as any other gauge. In the middle of January, Orion was located due south at 10 p.m. Now he stands at the edge of the horizon. When he has disappeared before midnight, then clovers will be blooming and morel mushrooms will be gone.
Weather systems Seven major cold fronts move across the nation in April. Snow is possible in northern areas with the arrival of the first three fronts. Average dates for the weather systems to reach the Mississippi are April 2, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24 and 28.
Although the intensity of the high-pressure systems moderates considerably after April 22, be alert for frost at least two days after each system pushes through your area. Most precipitation usually occurs during the first two weeks of the month.
Two major weather systems dominate the first quarter of April, and these fronts bring each day of the period a 40 percent chance for precipitation. April 3 and 5 are two of the wettest days of the month, carrying a 60-70 percent chance for precipitation.
Chances for frost remain steady at 30 percent throughout the period, but highs rise above 50 degrees an average of 60 percent of the time this week. And chances for highs in the 80s move from just 5 percent on March 29 up to 10 percent on March 30, and to 15 percent on March 31.
Then they fall back to an average of 5 percent per day until April 20, after which they return to 15 percent until May 11.
April frost watch Although your farm or garden is virtually certain to have one or more frosts this month, early plantings will be able to take advantage of spring rains; and every few years, frost stays away from the end of March through the end of October.
Between April 1-June 1, close to 10 frosts occur in this region. Chances for a light frost to strike after the dates listed below are:
April l: 98 percent
April 5: 90 percent
April 10: 75 percent
April 15: 65 percent
April 20: 55 percent
April 25: 40 percent
April 30: 30 percent
On April 1, the sun will have reached a declination of 4 degrees, 52 minutes, almost 60 percent of the way to summer. That day also ushers in middle spring, a brief but dramatic season containing four major cold fronts and lasting through April 25.
The first major bloom of wildflowers and domestic bulbs occurs during this season. The weather becomes much milder, and the farm and garden year gets under way. The night is now four hours shorter than it was at winter solstice.
The S.A.D. Index reflects the promises of the new season. It remains relatively favorable all week, falling into the 30s (on a scale of 1-75) for the first time since October.
Almanac daybook March 29: Today is full moon day, and it coincides with the window for the last cold front of March. Expect stormy conditions – as well as extra problems with livestock and family. If you have a job in the health or public service field, expect more accidents, sickness, crime and crazy behavior.
March 30: As middle spring arrives during the week ahead, the first major wave of wildflowers comes into bloom. If you have never identified flowers, this is a perfect time to start. Since the number of blooming varieties is so small, any guidebook with photographs should be able to help you name the plants you find.
March 31: When your animals move to pasture, they may have a higher energy need than when they were pen-fed. Excitement or stress caused by traffic or other animals can also increase feed requirements.
April 1: Zeitgebers for the week: Hemlock is bushy, and basal leaves of the tall ragwort are forest green and swelling in the ditches. Skunk cabbage leaves have started to spread out, and forsythia almost always opens this week in the East as monarch butterflies arrive in Texas.
Barn swallows arrive in West Virginia as barred owls hatch and grape hyacinths bloom. In the Northeast, wood frogs begin to sing.
Farmers plant peanuts in the South, sugar beets in the North. This is the time for everyone to put in turnips, carrots and salsify, too.
April 2: The April 2 high-pressure system initiates an 11-day period of unsettled weather that brings an increased chance of tornadoes in the South and Midwest and spring storms to the North.
April 3: From North Carolina into Oklahoma, plum trees are full of flowers and the pears start to open. Quince, magnolias, crab apples and cherry trees blossom. The peak period of pussy willow pollen begins across the Midwest, and some of the heavy golden catkins have fallen in the wind.
April 4: As the April 6 cold front approaches, the chances for frost briefly diminish, and possibility of highs in the 70s or 80s increases dramatically across the country. Precipitation, however, often puts a stop to field and garden work. After this front and the next pass east, the possibility of damage to flowering fruit trees increases.
Living with the seasons On the farm, put in corn, oats and barley whenever the ground is right. Then band seed alfalfa. Thirty-five percent of oats and 2 percent of the field corn are traditionally in the ground by this time of the month.
Lawn mowing season begins this week; so does turkey gobbling time. Carpenter bees appear around your house and barn looking for nesting sites. Watch for the first blossoming of magnolias, dogwoods and Bradford pears. Leaves appear on elm trees. Daffodils are at their peak. |
