Nov. 22-28, 2010
There is the simplified, clarified outdoor world, on a bright November day. The leafless trees are stripped to fundamentals. The horizon is in plain sight and far away. Valleys are broader, their outlines obvious. Hills are somehow higher. It is a bigger world, a world that invites wandering and exploration.

-Hal Borland
Lunar phase and lore

The Sundog Moon wanes through its third quarter this week, entering its final phase at 11:18 p.m. Nov. 28. Rising in the middle of the night and setting in the middle of the day, this moon lies overhead near dawn.

Passing from Gemini to Cancer on Nov. 24, the gibbous moon wanes into Leo on Nov. 26, Virgo on Nov. 28 and Libra on Nov. 30.
The weakening of the moon this week should contribute to a lessening of seasonal affective disorders. The weaker moon should also help to make the family Thanksgiving more peaceful and Christmas shopping less stressful. If relatives are troublesome, however, work with your animals; they will appreciate the attention and should respond well both to you and the moon.

As the moon wanes, plant and water all your paperwhites and amaryllis bulbs. They may not bloom for Christmas, but they should be a welcome addition to the cold of January’s Deep Winter.
Fish and game should be more active with the moon overhead in the morning this week, especially as the barometer falls prior to the Nov. 24, 28 and Dec. 2 cold fronts. Dieters, however, could find morning Honey Buns waiting to lead them into obesity near those dates.

The sixth cold front of the month, arriving around Nov. 24, ordinarily brings rain or snow on Nov. 23 (a 70 percent chance). The seventh high-pressure system generally arrives Nov. 28, preceded by rain 80 percent of the time on Nov. 27.

Nov. 28-30 have the best odds of the month for snow. Nov. 28 is the gloomiest day of the whole month, carrying just a 20 percent chance for a peek of the sun.

Daybook

Nov. 22: On Nov. 22, the sun enters the early winter sign of Sagittarius and reaches within two degrees of solstice at the same time.

Nov. 23: Once the leaves are down, plant an evergreen in the yard. With all the foliage and flowers gone, you will be able to position your tree for its best winter appearance.

Nov. 24: After today, the percentage of cloudy days almost doubles over the average for the rest of November; even in the South, cloudy days begin to increase the likelihood for seasonal affective disorders and contribute to complications with harvest.

Nov. 25: Work gypsum into the soil where salt, used to melt winter’s ice, may damage plantings.

Nov. 26: Average low temperatures fall below freezing in almost all of the northern and central states, but as the final weather system of the month approaches, Nov. 26 is sometimes one of the windiest and mildest days in late November.

Nov. 27: Sandhill cranes are departing the Midwest, flying south across the Ohio Valley on their way to Florida. Listen for their sharp cries as they fly in formation high above you.

Nov. 28: The seventh high-pressure system of November generally arrives around today, preceded by rain or snow three years out of four. This is one of the most dangerous weather systems of the month, and precipitation often lingers through the cold for Nov. 29-30. Clouds, of course, dominate the sky, and travel conditions are typically uncertain.

Low temperatures throughout the northern and central regions of the United States can fall below zero between this front and the March equinox front. Conditions do ordinarily moderate on the last day of November, setting the stage for an early December thaw.

Countdown to early winter

Although certain types of trees lose their leaves earlier or later than others, the particular trees near where you live may have their own schedules. Depending on the year, the final leaf-fall occurs on beeches or pears before the arrival of early winter.

Sometimes oaks are the holdouts, sometimes forsythia, or a hardy honeysuckle. Sometimes sweet gums and poplars keep a few leaves this late in the year; sometimes Osage, mock orange and lilacs outlast all the other trees and shrubs.

Living with the seasons

Even if the weather is damp outside, the humidity in your home may be excessively low, especially if you have forced air heat. Heated air with low humidity can dry out your nasal passages and lungs – increasing your susceptibility to colds and flu. Keep your home cool, consider purchasing a humidifier, and spend as much time out-of-doors as you can.

Almanac classics
Money in the Fur Business
By Raymond McAhren

It was during the Depression, and trapping on our farm meant we could have some extra money. A good skunk would bring $4.
When we caught a skunk, we greased our hands, and then put on gloves to skin them. It was a happy day when the fur buyers started buying skunks that were not skinned, at the same price as skinned skunks!

One day when I looked under the barn floor, I saw a skunk. I reached down and petted it. Before long, I put a collar on it, pulled it outside and led it around the farm. Then we put it inside a pen, and we took our dog and went hunting at night for another skunk.
We treed a good “star” skunk in a straw stack in our neighbor’s woods. Then we dug a hole in the straw so we could see the skunk. I remembered a friend had told me if you pick a skunk up by his tail and get his hind feet off the ground, it can’t spray you.
So, I grabbed this skunk by his tail and pulled him out. Holding him by the tail just aimed his spray gun at my face, and it burned like fire. He got me twice before I could throw him and yell, “Let the dogs have him!”

We were out of the fur business for good after that, and it took two weeks before I quit stinking like a skunk.