The Sun advances, and the Fogs retire:

The genial Spring unbinds the frozen Earth,

Dawns on Trees and gives the Primrose Birth. – Poor Richard’s Almanack, April 1742

The Moon: 

The Daffodil Moon waxes throughout the period, becoming full at 12:37 a.m. on April 6. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the early morning, this moon passes overhead in the night.

The Stars: 

Early in the month, Orion, in its Middle Spring position, is setting in the far west after dark. Behind him high in the southwest come Gemini and Cancer. Directly overhead, the Big Dipper’s pointers (the “outside” wall of the Dipper that point directly to the North Star) are positioned almost exactly north-south.

The Shooting Stars: Put the Lyrid Meteor Shower on your April calendar. That shower peaks April 22 and 23.

Weather Trends: 

Seven major cold fronts move across the nation in an average April. Snow is possible in northern areas with the arrival of the first three fronts. Average dates for the weather systems to reach the Mississippi: April 2, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24 and 28.

Major storms are most likely to occur on the days between April 1 and 11, and from April 19 through the 27. Although the intensity of the high-pressure systems moderates after the 22nd, be alert for frost at least two days after each system pushes through your area.

New moon on April 20, perigee on April 16 and full moon on April 6 are expected to intensify the weather systems and bring frost and flurries near those dates. In general, most precipitation usually occurs during the first two weeks of the month. 

The Natural Calendar: 

Harbinger of spring, hepatica, bloodroot, bluebells, Dutchman’s breeches, twinleaf, toothwort and spring beauties all burst into bloom. Ragweed sprouts. Leaves grow on skunk cabbage. Buds form on wild raspberries. Water striders mate. May apple spears are up in the woods (forecasting morel mushrooms). The first buckeyes, apple and peach trees leaf out.

Flickers are calling. Goldfinches – their breasts turning yellow – are chasing each other through the leafing honeysuckles. Cardinals now sing 45 minutes earlier in the morning than they sang four weeks ago. Barn swallows arrive as Barred Owls hatch and wood frogs finally call.

Peak Activity Times for Creatures

When the moon is above the continental United States, creatures are typically most active. The second-most-active times occur when the moon is below the Earth.

Activity is likely to increase at new moon and full moon and at perigee (when the moon is closest to Earth), especially as the barometer falls in advance of cold fronts near those dates.

Date Best               Second-Best

April 1-6: Midnight to Dawn    

Afternoons 

April 7-13:  Mornings  Evenings

April 14-20:       Afternoons Middle of the Night

April 21-28:       Evenings.  Mornings

April 29-30        Midnight to Dawn    Afternoons

Mind and Body: 

Some studies suggest that people tend to eat and sleep less as Early Spring changes into Middle Spring. That might be good for your diet, but stay away from excessive use of alcohol: the period between March and June sees the sharpest rise in alcohol-related problems.

Cincinnati physician Dr. Clarence Mills suggested in his Climate Makes the Man (1942) that children conceived in winter and spring tend to live longer and that they choose to attend college twice as often as those conceived “in midsummer heat.” He went so far as to say that one would be wiser to plan one’s children according to the time of year than to worry about saving for their education.

Countdown to Spring

• Within a few days goldfinches will be all gold and the fat toads sing

• Two weeks until lilacs bloom in your dooryards

• Three weeks until all the honeysuckles flower

• Four weeks to Morel Season and May Apple Blooming Season

• Five weeks to the first rhubarb pie

• Six weeks to the great warbler migration through the Lower Midwest

• Seven weeks to the first peas from the garden

• Eight weeks until the first orange daylilies blossom

• Nine weeks until the high canopy begins shades the garden

Almanack Classics

Weird Ben

A True Almanack Classic

By Lois Rivard, Switzerland County, Indiana

My neighbors had a very unusual cat. Its gender was questionable. Upon examination it appeared to have the attributes of both male and female. Hoping it would turn out to be a Tom, they named him Ben. Later, if proven otherwise, she could be called Ben Hur (Her).

The owners were leaving for a few days and asked me to feed Ben, stating his food was in the bottom of the refrigerator.

The first morning when I opened the fridge, all I found were chunks of half-frozen lettuce. Ben pounced on it, gobbling it up. I was appalled, surmising these people were starving their cat. I came home and took Ben some canned cat food and hamburger. He completely ignored it, preferring to chomp on his lettuce.

The next morning the treat I had taken was untouched, and there was Ben scratching at the refrigerator, begging for his frozen lettuce.

Needless to say, Ben did not live to a ripe old age. Surprisingly, his strange diet sustained him for a year or two before he died of malnutrition, apparently by his own choice.

***

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SCKRAMBLER

OBY BOY

UYOB BUOY

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THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER

In order to estimate your SCKRAMBLER 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. Yes, you are a genius.

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Poor Will’s Almanack for 2023 is still available. Order yours from Amazon, or, for an autographed copy, order from www.poorwillsalmanack.com. You can also purchase Bill Felker’s new book of essays, The Virgin Point, from those sites.

Copyright 2023 – W. L. Felker