Nov. 24-30, 2014

It is late November, Thanksgiving,

And the slow rain falls as all day

It has fallen.

-Wendell Berry

Lunar phase and lore

The Sandhill Crane Migration Moon, new on Nov. 22, waxes throughout the week, entering its second phase at 5:06 a.m. on Nov. 29. Rising in the afternoon and setting after midnight, this moon passes overhead (its most favorable position for fishing and seeking game) in the afternoon. Angling and hunting should be especially productive as the cold front of Nov. 28 approaches the region. Seeding of bedding plants and late placement of bulbs are favored between Nov. 24-Dec. 5 as the moon passes through fertile Capricorn, Pisces and Taurus.

Weather trends

This week marks the fall of average highs below 50 degrees throughout the area, and the end to any chance of a day above 70. Nights below zero even become possible now.

The final high-pressure system of the month generally arrives on Nov. 28, preceded by precipitation 80 percent of the time on Nov. 27  (the wettest day in the month’s weather history). Nov. 28-30 have the best odds of the month for snow.

The natural calendar

Nov. 24: As the weather gets colder, wild game moves to areas where cover is thickest. For deer, mating season is usually over. Whitetail bucks have their gray winter coats now, and they are starting to drop their antlers.

Nov. 25: Fed by honeysuckle berries, robins linger in town and in the woods. Starlings cluck and whistle at sunrise, and cardinals and pileated woodpeckers and bobwhites sing off and on throughout the day. Finches work the sweet gum tree fruits, digging out the seeds from their hollows. Sparrow hawks appear on the fences, watching for song birds and mice.

Nov. 26: The beeches and the pears have lost their leaves, and the silver maples and the oaks thin out. Bittersweet is wide open along the fencerows. Bright pink coralberries shine through the undergrowth. Seed tufts of virgin’s bower complement tufts of milkweed, thimble plants and cattails.

Nov. 27: Today is Thanksgiving – the same day as lunar perigee (when the moon is closest to Earth). Expect cold and storms, especially since tomorrow typically brings one of the most dangerous weather systems of the month.

Nov. 28: Bluebirds make their final passage south through the Ohio Valley.

Nov. 29: The moon enters its second quarter, its weakest position during the last part of November, favoring relatively mild conditions as December approaches.

Nov. 30: From this point forward, growth among purple deadnettle, henbit, dock and dandelions is almost imperceptible in average years, and the cold does away with all their November progress.

In field and garden

Nov. 24: If you have a shallow koi or goldfish pond, keep a waterfall running through the winter or use an electric heater to keep the surface of the pond from freezing.

Nov. 25: Fertilize trees and bushes after leaf drop is complete. Prune fruit-bearing bushes.

Nov. 26: After Nov. 25, the percentage of cloudy days doubles over the average for the rest of the month; cloudy days begin to increase the likelihood for seasonal affective disorders and contribute to complications with harvest.

Nov. 27: Bring in oregano, rosemary, parsley and thyme for winter seasonings. Stake weaker shrubs and trees. Mulch strawberries with straw. Prepare to transport goat and sheep cheese, Christmas cacti, dried flowers and grasses, poinsettias, mistletoe and ginseng to market.

Nov. 28: Order legume seed for winter pastures. Schedule your frost seeding for January and February. Fertilize pastures now for improved winter hardiness and spring development. Order sunflower, beet, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, comfrey, carrot, kale and turnip seeds for you and your livestock.

Nov. 29: Increase grain to feeder stock in order to have them at desirable market weight in late winter and early spring.

Nov. 30: The corn and soybean harvests are usually complete all around the county by this date, and development of winter wheat slows in the cold. New garlic shoots are firm and green, but they’ve stopped growing and remain at their middle-autumn height. The Christmas tree harvest is at its peak, and the last poinsettias have come north.

Almanac literature

Great American Story Contest entry

Two in One: American Geisha

By Margaret R. Nestor

New London, Ohio

My daughter’s wedding reception was a month away. I could not embarrass my family, so I had to buy a new dress.

 I drove to the mall, found a store within my budget and a helpful clerk. She brought several suitable dresses for me to try on, and one of them I really liked. I thought it was a skirt and a blouse, for I could see elastic in the waist.

The colors were soft and spring-like, and the material was of good quality. I tried on the full-length skirt. It had small pleats all the way down. There was a large pleat that covered my hips and draped gracefully in back. As I came out of the dressing room, my clerk asked, “How does that look and feel?”

“I feel like a Geisha girl,“ I said. “It is so tight!”

I walked toward the mirror, but I had to walk slowly and shuffle my feet. I saw the supervisor and said to her, “Why is it so tight? I feel like a Geisha girl.”

The supervisor said, “This is the first time that anyone has tried that outfit on. It is supposed to be pants.”

Then I realized I had my two legs in one pant leg, and the other pant leg was covering my rear.

I looked at the clerk, and her hands covered her face, and I knew she was laughing. Then the supervisor started to laugh.

“Well, ladies,” I said, with my hands on my hips, “I guess I made your day!”