Poor Will's Almanack by Bill Felker July 27-Aug. 2, 2015 Weather trends Fish, game, livestock and people tend to feed more and are more active as the barometer is falling 1-3 days before the weather systems that arrive near the following dates, on which cold fronts normally cross the Mississippi River: Aug. 4, 10, 17, 21 and 29. The natural calendar July 27: Late crickets invade the city. July 28: Normal average temperatures begin to fall for the first time this year. July 29: White snakeroot, Joe Pye weed and tall coneflowers bloom, signaling the approach of late summer. July 30: Geese become restless as a Judas maple here and there turns red. Fogs appear at dawn. July 31: The first boneset and ragweed of the season comes into bloom, and the first blackberry falls into your mouth. Earliest pods of the touch-me-not burst at the slightest movement. Almost every firefly is gone. Aug. 1: The stinging wood nettle goes to seed in the bottomlands. Aug. 2: Meadow larks and plovers fly south, leading the first major bird migration of 2015. Wild cherries ripen, and hickory nuts and black walnuts drop into the undergrowth. In field and garden July 27: Farmers prepare for August seeding of alfalfa. Gardeners plan for areas in which to seed a green manure crop. July 28: Wild grapes ripen; the dry onion harvest starts. July 29: Make corrective lime and fertilizer applications for August and September seeding. July 30: The oats crop is half-cut, field corn is typically silking and pods are setting on a third of the soybeans. Summer apples are about half-picked. July 31: When wild cherries darken on the wild cherry trees, then expect potato leafhoppers to be causing serious damage to your potatoes. Aug. 1: The cutting of silage has taken over from the second and third cuts of hay. The harvest of winter wheat is complete throughout the nation. Aug. 2: In forage pastures, clip alfalfa plants when blooms have just started; its energy will be directed back to making foliage instead of producing seeds. Listen to Poor Will’s "Radio Almanack" on podcast any time at www.wyso.org |
