If time is an ocean, the present is not less important than other moments, which stretch away on all sides, any more than a single water molecule in an ocean is less important than the others. In a sense each living moment is the whole of time – an eternal present because it can’t be set apart from all the other moments.

-David Rains Wallace

Lunar phase and lore

The Crow Gathering Moon waxes throughout the period, gathering crows to feed in the soybean and corn fields, and entering its second quarter on Dec. 20 at 12:19 a.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the middle of the night, this moon travels overhead in the evening.

Lunar position above you favors late-afternoon angling and scouting for game, especially as the cold front of Dec. 20 approaches. The moon will be in Pisces between Dec. 17-20, and in Taurus between Dec. 22-25, providing those days with a little extra lunar benevolence for seeding of bedding plants.

The moon’s relatively weak phase during this week may tend to lighten seasonal affective disorders and may make holiday pressures less stressful.

Winter solstice occurs at 6:11 a.m. Dec. 21, and on Dec. 24 the sun’s declination makes its first move toward spring, shifting just a fraction of a degree from 23 minutes, 26 seconds to 23 minutes, 25 seconds.

The Ursid meteors will appear late at night deep in the northeast around the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, the Ursid or “bear” constellations, between Dec. 17-25.

The coldest days, those with better than a 35 percent chance for temperatures in the 20s or below, all come at this time of year: Dec. 17, 18, 19, 25 and 26. The most bitter day this week in weather history is Dec. 19, with a 30 percent chance for highs only in the teens. And more below-zero temperatures occur between Dec. 18-26 than on any other December mornings.

Precipitation is common throughout the period, with every day this week bringing a 50 percent chance for rain or snow except Dec. 16, which is typically the driest and the sunniest day between now and Christmas. Double-digit below-zero temperatures are possible between Dec. 15-March 22.

Zeitgebers for this week include the end of Christmas cactus blossoms (on plants kept several years) and the occasional cardinal song around 7:40 in the morning; during the warmest Decembers, even doves will sometimes call.

Dec. 17: As the moon waxes, force all the hardy bulbs you can for the coldest days of January. If you haven’t already prepared your bulbs, check with the local nursery to see if they have some left. Or, if the ground is not frozen solid, go out, dig up a few that you can spare from your March or April garden and tell them it’s spring.

Dec. 18: Be sure you are protecting your pesticides from winter cold. Check containers for the recommended temperature ranges for the products you have on hand.

Dec. 19: Between this week and Jan. 3, normal average temperatures drop 1 degree every four days instead of 1 degree every three, signaling a slight slowdown in the chilling of most American farms and gardens. Soon the averages become steady; on Jan. 28 they start to climb toward summer.

Dec. 20: The moon enters its second quarter today. Halfway between new and full, today’s moon favors any activity that ordinarily creates physical or mental stress. Since the moon will have set by the time the Geminid meteors appear, you may be able to find a few shooting stars if you watch the eastern sky after midnight.

Dec. 21: When great flocks of crows gather for the winter, then early spring is only eight weeks away, and red squirrels get white tufts on their ears.

Dec. 22: Evenings come early in the middle of winter, and if you suffer from “Hesperian Depression,” you may be more sensitive than most people to the approach of night. Hesperus was the Greek god of dusk, and the melancholy or unusual lethargy that comes on with darkness is named after him.

Dec. 23: Take advantage of winter stability to begin marketing campaigns, make doctor and dentist appointments and plan business expansion, home improvement and farm and garden projects. Most colleges and universities are still accepting applications for next fall; this would be a good time to consider going back to school.