Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2015

Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lunar phase and lore

The Windfall Apple Moon, continuing to pull down apples and waning throughout the period, enters its last phase on Sept. 5 at 4:54 a.m. Rising after dark and setting close to noon, this moon crosses overhead after midnight.

Lunar position in the dark may encourage fish and dieters to feed at that time, especially as the first cool front of September approaches. This waning September moon is perfect for the early planting of spring and summer bulbs, especially when it passes through Cancer on Sept. 6-8.

Weather trends

The effects of the first cold wave usually appear by Sept. 2, which is the first day since June 4 that 90s become unlikely. Then on Sept. 3, a 55 percent chance for highs only in the 70s. Sept. 4 also brings a good chance for chilly weather, and it begins the long period of the year during which there is at least a 10 percent chance for highs below 70 degrees.

Warmer conditions typically return on Sept. 5-6, but the second high-pressure system of the month, which arrives between Sept. 5-11, brings lows into the 30s one year in 20.

Sept. 6 is the first day of the season on which there is a 5-6 percent chance of light frost on the gardens of the Ohio Valley. Chances increase at the rate of about 1 percent per day through Sept. 15. Between Sept. 15-20, chances grow at the rate of 2 percent per day. Between Sept. 20-30, they grow at the rate of 5 percent per day.

The natural calendar

Aug. 31: The sun’s position is the same now as in early April, and the rate of the night’s expansion increases from 2 minutes per day to 3.

Sept. 1: The Alpha Aurigid  and the Alpha Capricornid meteors pass through during the first 10 nights of the month.

Sept. 2: White and violet asters, orange beggarticks, burr marigolds, tall goldenrod, zigzag goldenrod and Japanese knotweed come into bloom, blending with the brightest of the purple ironweed, yellow sundrops, blue chicory, golden touch-me-nots, showy coneflowers and great blue lobelia.

Sept. 3: Orb-weaver spiders weave more extensive webs as early fall approaches. Watch for them in doorways and barn windows.

Sept. 4: Wood mint puts out new stalks. Watercress revives in the sloughs. Next May’s sweet rockets and next July’s avens send up fresh basal leaves. The first autumn violets flower. Sweet Cicely sends produces foliage again. Sedum reappears, lanky from its canopied summer.

Sept. 5: A few big yellow leaves of the white mulberry drop early. Jumpseeds have started to jump.

Sept. 6: People who suffer from pollen allergies have about two more weeks of serious irritation, thanks to ragweed coming down from the North and the last tier of wildflowers – including goldenrod – blooming throughout the South and lower Midwest.

By the third week of September, however, pollen counts typically are only about half of what they are today.

In field and garden

Aug. 31: Soybean leaves are turning gold from Georgia to North Dakota, and pods could be set on almost all of the acreage.

Sept. 1: The corn harvest begins in average years, as 90 percent of the corn is usually in dough and at least half is dented; 10 percent should be mature.

Sept. 2: The major months of seasonal change – September, December, March and June – are excellent times to vaccinate animals. Change can bring weather extremes as well as stress, so you will be taking care of routine health matters at the most important times of the year.

Sept. 3: Hogs on pasture? Consider this rule of thumb: graze 5-15 100-pound hogs per acre of good pasture. And grazing can often replace up to half of a gestation diet.

Sept. 4: Summer apples are almost all picked. The third cut of alfalfa is half-complete in a good year.

Sept. 5: Plan early for the color of winter bulbs. Order by catalog or visit nurseries to find out when they will be selling their amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs.

Sept. 6: Begin autumn feeding of perennials and vegetable garden plots.

Almanac literature

Great American Story Contest entry

Unwelcome Guest

By Teresa Steinbrunner

Fort Recovery, Ohio

The sighting of a gray little mouse

Does distress the lady of the house.

For usually there is more than one,

Likely a few pals who skitter and run.

She tries to hit it with a broom

As it scampers from room to room.

And what distresses her even more,

Leaves calling cards in every drawer.

Along the walls and across the floor,

Nibbling on food she has to store.

No chink so small to keep it out,

All day, somewhere sneaking about,

Hurrying scurrying here and there,

And throughout the night, everywhere!

She baits a trap with bits of cheese

“Come on, little mouse, eat it, please!”

Her patience will be put to the test,

Changing bait to see which works best.

Capture of the last little pest

Will leave the lady twicely blest.

The day comes, rid of that final mouse …

There’s more incentive to clean the house!

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

Last week’s Scrambler

In order to estimate your Scrambler IQ, award yourself 15 points for each word unscrambled, adding a 50-point bonus for getting all of them correct.

If you find a typo, add another 15 points to your IQ.

UATNS – AUNTS

NACST – CANTS

STNAHC – CHANTS

NTSGRA – GRANTS

TPSNA – PANTS

NALPST – PLANTS

CEANPR – PRANCE

SRANT – RANTS

SCNTSA – SCANTS

This week’s Scrambler

CALE

PSAEC

AAEBS

SEPOUC

SODECARG

HCIAES

HACES

ACEM

CEART

LPSIDCEA

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