May 9-15, 2011
Rise early now this month of Maye,
And walk the fields that be so gaye.
-Buckminster Almanack, May 1598

Lunar phase and lore

The Clover Moon waxes throughout the period, entering its second quarter on May 10 at 3:33 p.m. and becoming completely full on May 17 at 6:09 a.m.
Rising in the afternoon and setting before dawn, this gibbous moon is overhead late in the evening, favorable for late afternoon or early morning fishing and planting. Prior to the May 12 and 15 weather systems, all creatures should experience greater hunger with the moon overhead, and seeds should be more prone to sprout.

Passing through Leo on May 9-10, Virgo May 11-12, Libra May 13-14, Scorpio May 15-16 and Sagittarius May 17-18, the moon will, conveniently, favor setting out of new plants over next weekend, in Scorpio.

Weather patterns

The day before the May 12 front often has the warmest weather history of the month, bringing 80s more often than any other day until June. But the arrival of the front can bring flurries and storms.

This is also one of the last frost-bearing fronts to move across the nation. Although gardens in the North are not immune to a freeze throughout the entire month of May, the greatest danger of loss from low temperatures recedes quickly as this high moves out over the Atlantic.

The May 15 front and the next two are often followed by the “Strawberry Rains,” the wettest time of May in the lower Midwest. May 15 is a good target date for having fields and gardens planted, in order to avoid a serious delay in seeding. Spring rains and humidity can increase the risk of internal parasites and foot problems in livestock.

Daybook

May 9: Weevils are building up in alfalfa now, and cutworms have moved into your fields. Tent caterpillars appear on ash, birch, maples, oak, poplar, sweetgum and wild cherry. When the first firefly glows in your lawn, flea beetles come feeding in the vegetable garden.

May 10: The moon’s entrance into its second quarter today should bring relatively stable lunar conditions for working with animals, children, parents and significant others. The planting of field corn is often half complete by now, and this year, the waxing moon favors sprouting.

May 11: In the gardens along the Great Lakes, late spring is the time to catch the last of the redbuds and crab apples, cowslips, spring beauties, Virginia bluebells and Jacob’s ladder.

Throughout the upper tier of states, tulips are typically in full flower. The great spring dandelion bloom is traveling toward the Canadian border when strawberries and wild black raspberries come into full bloom in the lower Midwest.

May 12: When you see redbud trees getting seedpods, then go looking for horseshoe crabs mating along the Carolina and Georgia coastline. Or, listen for the first crickets of the year singing in the sun of your yard or homestead. Or go fishing for crappies: their season peaks in middle May.

May 13: Snow-on-the-mountain blossoms across the region, and the first of the sweet Williams, the first clematis and the first spiderwort open. White-spotted skippers and red admiral butterflies visit the garden.

Gold-collared black flies swarm in the pastures. Leafhoppers look for corn. Scorpion flies make their appearance in the barnyard. Some alfalfa is budding, and some is even being cut where weevil control is needed. Orchard grass is heading up.

May 14: When the high foliage is complete, then the wild multiflora roses and the domestic tea roses bloom, the last Osage and black walnut flowers fall, clustered snakeroot hangs with pollen in the shade and parsnips, goatsbeard and sweet clovers take over the roadsides. Rare swamp valerian blossoms by the water, and common timothy pushes up from its sheaths in all the alleyways.

May 15: Strawberries come into full bloom in average years. Black medic and plantain blossom. Spittlebugs appear on pine trees, azalea mites on azaleas, cankerworms on elms and maples, lace bugs on the mountain ash … and fleas on your dogs and cats.