And so we see in Plants and all of Nature the Word of God. \ Like any Scripture, Earth’s Matter is subject to our Doubt. But to the one who listens closely to its Cadence, it reveals the sweet hidden Truth.

-Reginald Johnson,

On the Shapes of Leaves, 1697

The Maple Blossom Moon enters its second quarter at 12:27 p.m. March 19 and waxes until it is completely full at 4:27 a.m. on March 27. Rising near midday and setting in the dark of early morning, this moon is overhead throughout much of the night.

Lunar position above you after supper makes night fishing the most promising this week. But during the day, plant flower seeds and any vegetable that will produce its fruit above the ground; do it under Cancer between March 19-22.

Take care of difficult family and business matters well before full moon in order to minimize stress. The same applies to doctor and veterinary appointments. Does the full moon really make a difference? Ask the tides.

On March 21, there is a 65 percent chance for frost, but then by March 23, a major shift takes place in the frequency of freezing mornings. On that date, the chances drop suddenly to about 45 percent per day, then drop again on March 28 to 30 percent per day.

There’s more good news about this week: March 21 carries a 20 percent chance for a high in the 60s or 70s. Then on March 23, those chances jump to 40 percent. On March 24, the chances are 30 percent; on March 25-26, 35 percent; and on March 27-28, 55 percent.

March 18: Wild onions and garlic, some of the earliest plants of the year, create a special March flavor in your goat’s milk. That flavor is already causing problems in Alabama.

March 19: The cold front that arrives within a day or two of equinox is one of the last wintry fronts in the South, and in the central portion of the country, it marks the end of the worst of the weather systems of the first half of the year. Expect frost with this high, and the greatest likelihood for thunder and lightning since the end of last summer.

March 20: Clematis leaves emerge beside new growth of the dodder. Comfrey leaves reach 2 inches long. Motherwort swells into clumps, and purple deadnettle is in full bloom. Lambsquarters, beggarticks, pigweed and amaranth sprout, and the first periwinkle flower petals unfold.

March 21: In Western states and the lower Midwest, farmers are planting spring oats and barley when soil and weather conditions permit.

March 22: When you see white cabbage butterflies, then you know gold finches are turning gold and you may soon see ants working on the sidewalk. When you see a white cabbage butterfly, then you know catfish have begun spring feeding and breeding. And, you can tell green-bottle flies have hatched and termites are swarming, looking for new, sweet wood to eat.

March 23: Watch for May apple plants to push out of the ground in parks and woodlots. When their “umbrellas” open, then the morels should be swelling in the dark.

March 24: The March 24 cold front, like the March 14 weather system, is often mild and it is usually followed by some of the driest and brightest days so far in the year.