Feb. 7-13, 2011
Forty to 100 nights of freezing and thawing, fluffing and settling, from mid-November or early December to the first weeks of March: the soil is worked more often and more deeply than my warm weather tractorings, and no doubt to far more beneficial effect: Winter renders the soil youthful again. So I wait for it to do its work. Wait and watch. The days will grow longer. They always have.
-Stanley Crawford
Lunar phase and lore

The new Bluebonnet Moon waxes throughout the week, entering its second quarter at 2:18 a.m. Feb. 11. Entering Taurus on Feb. 9, Gemini on Feb. 11 and Cancer on Feb. 14, this moon will rise in the morning and set at night, moving overhead in the evening.

Seeding of bedding plants and hardy vegetables continues to be favored by the waxing moon, especially in the fertile signs of Taurus and Cancer. Angling should be most successful late in the afternoon (but dieting may be much harder), especially as the barometer falls in advance of the Feb. 11 cold front.
Since the moon may exert less influence on ocean tides and on human and animal behavior when it comes into its second and fourth quarters, you might find it easier to transport animals or perform routine maintenance for your livestock on or about Feb. 11 and 24.

Venus moves retrograde into Sagittarius this month, visible low on the southeastern horizon near dawn. Mars, in Capricorn, continues to follow Venus just before sunup. Jupiter stays in Pisces in the far west after sundown, and Saturn remains in Virgo, overhead a few hours after midnight.

Weather patterns

A typical February in the lower Midwest brings one day with highs in the 60s, two or three in the 50s, a week in the 40s, eight to 10 days in the 30s, six in the 20s and one or two days only in the teens or single digits. There is a 50 percent chance for a morning or two below zero.

The coldest part of this month usually falls between Feb. 1-14. Early spring, a pivotal warming time, occurs by Feb. 17 seven years out of 10. Wildflower foliage begins to appear, bulbs push up and buds swell on the trees.

Daybook

Feb. 7: The moon is in Aries through tomorrow, a good to time to test forage if you suspect that quality is declining. Be sure calcium and phosphorus are in the grain ration, too.

Feb. 8: Mardi Gras begins on March 8, one month from now, and many communities start celebrating within the next few days. If you do not have a Mardi Gras bash in your town or township, why not plan one? You can sell everything from beads to costumes.

Feb. 9: Ohio Valley groundhogs often come out of hibernation in the second week of February, rarely (in spite of  the Groundhog Day legend) during the first week. Opossums – which wake up in the last days of January – increase their activity now. Skunks and raccoons seek their mates. Beavers pair off along the rivers.

Feb. 10: The waxing moon lies in Taurus today, just right for starting flowers and vegetables to set out around April 1. And when yellow aconites bloom in your garden, spread fertilizer so that it can work its way into the ground before April and May planting.

Feb. 11: The moon, 10 days old, now comes into its second quarter, weakening the effects of the third major cold wave of the month, which is due today. Sometimes dandelions are blooming in the sun today. Sometimes water striders swim the backwaters and small moths play outside on warmer afternoons.
Feb. 12: Consider your marketing plan for Dominican Republic Independence Day (Feb. 27). New winter kids and lambs appeal to this market and may help reduce feed costs as early spring approaches.

Feb. 13: All along the Gulf of Mexico, violets are coming into full bloom, along with wintersweet, winter honeysuckle, Lenten-rose and Jessamine. Strawberries often have new foliage in Tennessee. In your garden, daffodils are sometimes two inches high.

Calendar of holidays

Feb. 15: Muhammad’s Birthday (Mawlid Al-Nabi): Consider exploring the halal market to Muslims within your area.

Feb. 27: Dominican Republic Independence Day: Areas that have a sizeable population of residents from the Dominican Republic may show an increase in sales of lambs as February comes to a close.
Almanac literature
Rub A Dub, Grandpa In The Tub

By Cheryl L. Slone
Willard, Ohio

Some almanac stories, tales of mischief or surprise, have longer lives than much more polished literature. This lean narrative from Cheryl L. Slone reports an incident from many years ago that has long outlived the frog and Grandpa to add humor and fun to family get-togethers.

I grew up with three brothers. One of the boys brought a frog in and put it in the bathtub. Our bathtub had a sliding glass door on it, and he shut the door so the frog couldn’t jump out.

Now that day, Grandpa and Grandma Hicks came up from Dayton and spent the night with us. Before bed, Grandpa went into the bathroom, ran the water and had his bath.

Unbeknownst to him, he was not alone. When Grandpa got done, he was surprised to see a frog was sitting on the back corner ledge of the tub.
He never did find out which one of the boys brought the frog in.