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Views and opinions: Keep up some activity and drink good fluids for health
 

Dec. 17-23, 2018

Thou best of men and friends! We will create

A genuine summer in each other's breast,

And spite of this cold time and frozen fate,

Thaw us a warm seat to our rest.

-Richard Lovelace

The gibbous Flowering Jessamine Moon waxes until it becomes full on Dec. 22 at 12:48 p.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the morning, this moon moves overhead in the middle of the night.

This week every single day is the shortest day of the year, as the night’s advance finally stagnates for solstice, Dec. 21 at 5:23 p.m. Now sunrise is within just a few minutes of its latest time, as sunset slowly grows later at the rate of a minute every 2-3 days.

 Saturn in Sagittarius disappears from the night sky by the middle of the month. A little to the west of Cassiopeia and on the other side of the Big Dipper lies Cepheus – a constellation that looks a little like a house on its side. In Greek mythology, Cepheus was the father of Andromeda, and he was banished to the stars, along with his wife, Cassiopeia, for angering Poseidon, god of the sea.

The Ursid Meteors fall after midnight at the rate of about 5-10 per hour on Dec. 21 and 22, but bright full moonlight is likely to obscure many of them.

Full moon, added to December clouds, December chill and the shortest days of the year often causes problems for those who deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder. And holiday time can be bad for your heart, thanks to holiday excitement, family stress, excess alcohol consumption, lots of sitting around watching television and eating Grandma’s cookies and fruitcake.

Since more heart attacks occur during the early winter than at any other time, keep your diet balanced, continue to exercise and drink plenty of non-alcoholic liquids. If depression strikes, treat yourself to a walk in the woods, a good book or a movie – but not sugar. Sweets can actually lower your spirits.

Weather trends

Most high temperatures are in the 30s and 40s this week of the year, but warm 50s and 60s come an average of 10-15 percent of the time. On the other hand, highs only in the teens or 20s can occur an average of one day out of 10.

The moon reaches perigee early on the morning of Dec. 24, strengthening the Christmas cold front and increasing the chances for a white Christmas throughout the North. Meteorological conditions remain challenging for the next few days until the moon gradually moves farther from Earth and approaches its final quarter.

The natural calendar: Fallen leaves are matted by the rain and snow, their bright middle-autumn colors gone, faded to a uniform dull brown. In warm years, crocus and snowdrops may be pushing up through their mulch. A few pussy willow catkins could be opening above them.

Field and garden

As the full moon approaches, be especially careful of abortions in your more delicate livestock. Traditional supplements to ward off abortion include rose hips, hawthorn berries, raspberry leaves, tansy leaves and hollyhock root. Herbs to help with birthing are peppermint, thyme and chamomile.

Plan now to reserve your spring chicks for March, April or May so they can gain weight throughout the summer and be ready to lay by autumn. Also, prepare flats, containers and grow lights for the seeding of bedding plants at new moon on Jan. 5.

Marketing Notes: Jan. 6 is Epiphany (Three-Kings Day); many Christians celebrate this feast with a fine meal and religious services. Milk-fed lambs are often in demand for this market. And Feb. 5 is Tet (Vietnamese New Year and Chinese New Year). The Chinese market is often strong throughout the winter, favoring in the 60- to 80-pound live-weight range.

Fish, insects, livestock and birds: Tufted titmice begin mating calls as deep winter approaches. Male cardinals become more active, and sparrow flocks become more boisterous at this pivotal time in the year that promises lengthening days.

As the moon waxes full, it will be overhead in the late evening. Fish and hunt at the second-best lunar time, when the moon is beneath this part of the Earth, after sunrise.

Almanac classics

A Christmas Story

It’s the time of year when our memories carry us back to the easier days of childhood. Some people are soaked in tradition, as was my family – sort of.

My family always got together at Christmas, and all the fusses that may have occurred in the past year were forgotten. Presents were handed out, nothing grand, but a little something to say, "I'm thinking of you and wanted to give you a small gift."

My dad gave my Uncle Bubs a neatly wrapped little box, handing it to him as gently as though an egg might be inside. Uncle Bubs tenderly loosened the bow, and unwrapped the shiny gold paper. It was plain to everyone he was moved by my Dad’s thoughtfulness.

Once he unwrapped the package, Uncle Bubs lifted the lid and pulled back the brightly colored tissue paper to find, to everyone’s shock, a turkey butt – brown and basted to perfection. The whole room went up in laughter, as Uncle Bubs got up and went into the kitchen with his turkey butt still in the box.

Everyone thought he gave it to the cat, but next Christmas, he gave it back to my dad, still frozen from hiding in the freezer for a year!

He had the last laugh on Dad, and that turkey butt went back and forth for years, until it accidentally got thrown out during a freezer cleaning. At least Mom said it was an accident.

Uncle Bubs is gone now, since 1987. But every year, I still smile when I hear Martha Stewart say, “Have a traditional Christmas." Not in our house!

12/13/2018