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Mating Milkweed Bug Moon enters its second quarter June 17
 

By Bill Felker

The season wears on. Soon the last summer plantings, and the fall planting will be made; and the longest day is at hand. — Harlan Hubbard

 

The Moon and Stars

The Mating Milkweed Bug Moon entering its second quarter on June 17 at 5:11 a.m., waxes throughout the week. Rising in the afternoon and setting after midnight, this moon is overhead in the evening, encouraging creatures to feed, especially as the cool fronts of June 15 and 23 approach.

Late in the evening, Arcturus is the brightest light directly above you. It is followed by the Corona Borealis and Hercules. Scorpius is centered in the southern sky and dominates it until early July. Orion is overhead at noon, promising the Dog Days of July. 

 

Weather Trends

June 16 is the first day of a three-day period during which relatively little precipitation occurs (in weather history). After this date, chances for a high below 70 drop to less than five percent (except for three scattered days in July and August) until the first week of September. Chances for warm temperatures above 80 degrees remain relatively steady at 80 percent throughout the period. Sun is more common than clouds, and there is only a 20 percent chance for a completely overcast day during this time of June. 

 

Zeitgebers

(Events in Nature that Tell the Time of Year)

Walleye fishing on Lake Erie is at its best when yucca flowers throughout Ohio and Indiana. ‘

It’s high noon of the year, the peak of black raspberry season, goose molting season, the close of asparagus and rhubarb season, the first of sweet-corn-tassel season. Fledgling robins continue to haunt the bushes, adult robins continually guiding them with staccato peeps.

August’s wingstem and tall coneflower stalks are five feet high. Milkweed beetles mate on the flowering milkweed. Clustered snakeroot dominates the woods. White sweet clover and great mullein blossom along the highways. Sow thistles bloom in the alleys. 

Orange and pink Asiatic lilies and the ubiquitous ditch lilies reach full bloom. Yucca is fully open. Summer primroses, roses, heliopsis, foxglove, pink and yellow achillea, gooseneck loosestrife, late daisies, purple and white spiderwort, Russian sage, black-eyed Susans and large-leafed hostas open in the garden. 

 

Mind and Body

The S.A.D. Index, which measures seasonal stress on a scale from 1 to 100, rises into the 30s by June 23, because of lunar perigee and the approach of full moon. The typical arrival of Dog Day heat near the end of June also contributes to elevated chances of S.A.D. Nevertheless, those who can be outside for work or play should not suffer from seasonal issues.

 

In the Field and Garden

One third of the oats crop is headed in an average year. The first generation of sod webworms is usually born near this date. 

The wheat is almost all headed, and a third of the crop in the lower Midwest is usually turning by now. The first cut of alfalfa hay is typically three-fourths complete. 

Japanese beetles are on the move. Head scab and glume blotch develop on wheat as mildew declines. Six to eight leaves have usually emerged on field corn. Tobacco is at least three-fourths transplanted. Strawberries are half harvested.

This week is an early time for starting the second cut of alfalfa. Commercial broccoli and squash harvests are often underway. Cherry picking is in full swing.  The soybeans and sunflowers are in the ground, and most have sprouted.

 

ALMANACK LITERATURE

Blacksnake Foiled!

By Rick Taylor, Norwich, Ohio

‘Twas four years ago when I traipsed to our henhouse at 3:00 p.m. to gather hen berries (eggs). When I checked one of the boxes, I was surprised to discover a huge blacksnake with only one fourth of an egg sticking out of its mouth. I decided to save that egg, so I grabbed a switch stick and began to poke the snake to scare it so it would spit out the egg. It finally did and high-tailed it out of the chicken coop.

Since the egg was still intact, dry and not cracked, I put it in the fridge with the other eggs.

My wife was never the wiser, and we consumed that egg! Later, I told her we had eaten a half-swallowed egg! Since she belongs to a prominent women’s club, I thought I might get initiated. Naw: the rolling pin just stayed still!

 

***

Poor Will Wants Your Stories!

Poor Will pays $4.00 for unusual and true farm, garden, animal and even love stories used in this almanack! Send yours to Poor Will’s Almanack at the address below.

 

 

ANSWERS TO 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 one a typo, add another 15 points to your IQ.

 

BAUDTC ABDUCT

NOCCUDT CONDUCT

OUCCTTRSN CONSTRUCT

DDCTEU DEDUCT

IUCDNT INDUCT 

TCURINST INSTRUCT

BSTTRCOU OBSTRUCT

AUEUQDCT AQUEDUCT

IOUTCDNCSM MISCONDUCT

VODICUT OVIDUCT

 

THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCRAMBLER 

WORBN

WOLCN

NOWRC

NOWD

RNWOD

ORFNW

NWOG

UONN

NWDOA

NWNWTDOO

NWOGHTGIN

 

Bill Felker’s Daybook for July (with extensive details for every day of the month) is now available. For your autographed copy, send $20.00 to Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Or order from Amazon or from www.poorwillsalmanack.com.

 

Copyright 2021 – W. L. Felker

 

6/14/2021