The first signs of fall have already made themselves noticed in the garden. The smells were first to change, the perfumes sweeter and heavier. Next will be the colors as they turn to the reliable shades of crimson, saffron, orange and scarlet. There’s something more serious about the fall than any other season. Maybe it’s the light that gradually grows darker, making everything seem less trivial, forcing you to look harder to find your way.

-Gail Tsukiyama, from The Samurai’s Garden

The Hickory Horned Devil Moon wanes throughout the period, becoming the new Cobweb Moon on Sept. 15 at 9:11 p.m. Named for the spider webs becoming more frequent now throughout the woods and fields, this moon presides over the peak of insect abundance that occurs as birds gather for migration.

Rising before dawn and setting in the late afternoon or evening, the moon moves above you in the middle of the day. Since angling is often most productive with the moon overhead, expect an increase in bites and strikes near lunchtime, especially when the barometer falls as the cool fronts of Sept. 12 and 15 approach. On the other hand, if you are trying to diet, the moon may make lunchtime especially fattening.

This week, the dark moon’s fourth quarter favors harvest, autumn  mulching and the clearing out of the summer flower garden. Harvest silage and cut hay and tobacco under the dark moon. Trim hooves on goats and sheep, too. Then cut the nails on all your pets. Remove warts and fight athlete’s foot.

Tattoo animals and yourself. The slaughter of chickens is also recommended when the moon is dark, especially as the weather turns cool. New moon on Sept. 15 will favor planting of winter grains and cover crops, but will also increase lunar stress for students.

The Sept. 12 cool front marks the beginning of a decline in percentage of daily sunshine, a downward shift that continues through December (the year’s darkest month), and the next high of this month, due around Sept. 15, is followed by one the greatest shifts so far in the season.

As the sun moves to within a few degrees of equinox, late summer’s grip grows measurably weaker. As this weather system moves along the 40th Parallel, brisk afternoons in the 50s or 60s are four times as likely as during the first week of the month. The mornings are chilly, and the possibility of a light freeze grows steadily.

New moon on Sept. 15 is expected to strengthen this front and accentuate the transition to early fall.

Zeitgebers of this week include jumpseed seeds jumping when you run your fingers up or down their stems. The earliest black walnut trees are bare. The first autumn violets flower in the woods; when you see their blossoms, look for puffball mushrooms.

Sept. 16-18: Rash Hashanah: Jewish New Year and first high holiday. Prepare to market lambs and kids as this holiday comes to a close.

Sept. 10: Autumn grass may be lower in protein than its spring counterpart. Consider a protein supplement for your horses as September progresses. Lush fall grasses have also been related to laminitis, a disease of the hooves; inspect your horses’ feet on a regular basis.

Sept. 11: When doves stop calling in the mornings, then Fletcher scale attacks arborvitae; locust borers assault the locusts; and pine root collar weevils move to the pine trees.

Sept. 12: September and October are peak months for grasshoppers, crickets and katydids. The nighttime chorus of insects diminishes in direct proportion to the drop in temperatures and the reduced number of surviving species as fall advances.

Sept. 13: Butterflies are everywhere as September deepens: coppers, blues, monarchs, swallowtails, skippers, fritillaries, checkerspots, whites. Squirrels are opening the fallen Osage fruits. In the fields, goldenrod is peaking.

Sept. 14: Kingbirds, finches, ruddy ducks, herring gulls and yellow-bellied sapsuckers are moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. The last young grackles and hummingbirds leave their nests.

Sept. 15: Fall is a favored time to plant or divide lilac bushes. Do it in the dark of the moon (now). Prune your privet hedges for the last time, too.

Sept. 16: Today is new moon day, the beginning of the best two weeks in early fall for seeding late autumn and spring greens, for putting in bulbs and for transplanting shrubs and trees.

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