May 4-10, 2015

Trees and fields now flowering appear,

the woods full of leaves, greenest of the year.

-Virgil

Lunar phase and lore

The Petal-Fall Moon takes down the last flowers from the fruit trees and enters its fourth quarter on May 11 at 5:36 a.m. It reaches perigee, its powerful position closest to Earth, and then becomes the prophetic Hummingbird Moon on May 17 at 11:13 p.m.

Rising after midnight and setting after lunch, this moon passes overhead throughout the morning, encouraging fish to bite and dieters to feed at that time, especially as the barometer falls in advance of cool fronts of May 12 and 15.

Seeding of root crops and the setting out of shrubs, perennials and trees are favored throughout the remainder of the month, but especially as the moon passes through Taurus on May 16. After new moon on May 17, lunar position in Cancer creates the last best late-spring time of all for all kinds of planting.

The natural calendar

May 4: Cliff swallows migrate as buckeyes come into full bloom, carp mate and smallmouth bass begin the peak of their spring feeding.

May 5: On May 5-6, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower falls near Aquarius, low in the southeast several hours after midnight. The bright full moon, however, will limit the number of shooting stars you may see.

May 6: The Big Dipper has started to rotate to the west after midnight, forecasting chigger and Japanese beetle time. To the east of the North Star, the house-shaped constellation of Cepheus spins slowly around to the center of the southern sky; when it is almost overhead in the middle of the night, gardens will be full of mums.

May 7: Darners hunt the swamps. Ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive. Golden seal and Solomon’s seal come into bloom.

May 8: In the Southwest, most spring wildflowers have wilted in the heat of late spring. Century plant stalks rise in the Big Bend region of Texas, however, and prickly pear cactus are in full bloom throughout the desert.

May 9: Throughout the Rocky Mountains, pelicans and trumpeter swans are laying eggs near Yellowstone Lake. Goslings are hatching there just like they are along the Mississippi.

May 10: Mock orange and strawberries come into full bloom in the lower Midwest. Summer hosta leaves are close to full size. Wild cucumber plants sprout along the fencerows.

Weather trends

Although gardens in the lower Midwest are not immune to a freeze throughout May, the greatest danger of loss from low temperatures occurs in the month’s second week as a cold front strikes between May 10-13. Lunar perigee on May 14 will strengthen the power of the mid-May high-pressure system, making frost more likely.

The May 15 front and the next two are often followed by the “Strawberry Rains,” the wettest time of May in the lower Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic states. Clearly, May 15 is a good target date for having fields planted in order to avoid a serious delay in seeding.

In field and garden

May 4: Cabbage planting is under way in the North. Cutworms are moving in.

May 5: Potatoes and commercial tomatoes and pickles have all been set out along the Great Lakes.

May 6: Flea beetles eat the corn. Bagworms and powdery mildew attack the wheat.

May 7: Throughout the upper tier of states, tulips are typically in full bloom this second week of May.

May 8: Spring rains and humidity can increase the risk of internal parasites in your livestock. A stool sample analysis could help you to know that drenching has been effective.

May 9: Winter wheat is gold across the South. Blueberries are setting fruit in the Northeast.

May 10: Armyworms and corn borers are at work when thistles bud and the first strawberries redden in the garden. Slugs are out in force, bean leaf beetles are eating beans and alfalfa weevil infestations become more common.

Almanac literature

Great American Story Contest entry

Come to Me!

By Ethel M. Cotton

Creston, Ohio

I was working in our large garden and decided the blackberries on the far end needed to be picked.

We have enclosed the blackberries in a 20-by-25-foot plastic netting because otherwise the birds eat more of the berries than we do. The wind was blowing at times rather strong, and the netting moved a lot.

I wore a short-sleeved blouse and the sleeves buttoned on the back side of each sleeve with two buttons. I put my garden basket of things I might use in the garden (glasses, knife, spade, gloves) about 5 feet away from the entrance to the berries.

Well, as I went next to the netting, a plastic square hooked onto my left-sleeve buttons and I had no way of really reaching around the back of my sleeve. Pulling on netting only moved it farther off its framing and did not get my sleeve closer to me.

Now my husband was mowing lawn in the area. When I saw him moving into my sight, I did a “come to me” wave motion. He only waved a friendly high wave back to me and turned to mow the other direction again.

He soon turned back in my direction, and I did my urgent wave “come here” wave again! He still did the friendly high wave the second time and went on mowing.

Now we are old and have poor eyesight at a distance, so I excused his not seeing me very well. Finally, he came to the garden, and he wondered why I hadn’t moved from the same place for so long a time. Then he came over and saw me, prisoner in my own garden.

We laughed so hard over our silly event that took place right in our garden. The netting was to keep birds from our blackberries, not me!

Winners of the Great American Almanac Story Contest will not be announced until all selected entries appear in this column.