Sept. 4-10, 2017

 

Everywhere in the countryside there is a glimmer of autumn reds. Hawthorn bushes are laden with crimson berries, while the clusters of black elderberries are surrounded with vinous red leaves.

On brambles, the ripening berries are a glossy purple and some of the leaves are scarlet. The lower leaves of docks are also turning bright red.

-Derwent May

Almanac horoscope

Moon time: The Cricket and Katydid Moon becomes full at 2:03 a.m. on Sept. 6, entering its final quarter at 1:25 a.m. on Sept. 13. Rising in the evening and setting in the morning, this moon travels overhead through the night.

Sun time: By Sept. 8, the sun reaches three-quarters of its way from summer solstice to equinox. The amount of daylight shrinks below 13 hours for the first time since the first week of April, and more than another hour will be lost from the day’s length between now and Oct. 1.

Planet time: Riding the sky in Leo, Venus comes up due east before dawn, accompanied by her new consort, Mars. Jupiter lingers in Virgo deep in the far west just after sundown.

Star time: In September evenings, the Big Dipper lies close to the northern horizon, and Cepheus (shaped a little like a house) lies on the other side (the southern side) of Polaris, the north star.

Perseus, a monster slayer in Greek mythology, rises out the east and Hercules, another Greek hero, fills the western sky. Shooting star time: No major meteor activity is expected until early October.

Weather time

Early fall comes to most of the nation with the Sept. 8 front, a period during which the Dog Days of summer almost always moderate, fog forms more frequently in the early mornings and the cycle of flowering plants comes to a close. Full moon on Sept. 6 is likely to strengthen this weather system.

 

The Sept. 12 front brings only a slight chance for frost in states along the 40th Parallel. It does, however, arrive at the time during which the percentage of average amount of daily sunshine begins to fall more quickly, accelerating your livestock’s sensitivity to the shortening days.

Zeitgebers: The warmer afternoons bring a faint smell of autumn; the cooler mornings sometimes offer a hint of wood smoke. In the woodlots, nettle has gone to seed. Hickory nuts are down, and squirrels are collecting black walnuts Goldenrod is peaking.

The large violet New England asters are coming in, along with a variety of small-flowered asters. Beggarticks, white snakeroot, goosefoot, horseweed, Jerusalem artichokes, clearweed and smartweed are still in full bloom. Crickets and katydids sing throughout the nights.

Field and garden time

The waning moon favors harvest, weeding, preparation of the woodpile, repair of fences and roofs, the administration of vaccinations, trimming hooves, shearing and worming.

Treat your dog and cat for late-summer fleas and ticks, too. Fertilize peonies and other perennials to encourage improved flowering next spring and summer. Plant the last lettuce and radishes of the year. On the farm, prepare land for planting grasses, canola and small grains. Bring in the third crop of alfalfa and clean up all the summer apples. Cut the corn for silage.

Marketing time: Consider making your kids and lambs available for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, Sept. 20-22.

Creature time

The moon is overhead after midnight this week, telling all creatures to feed more heavily at that time. As cool fronts approach around Sept. 8 and 12, fish, game, livestock and dieters should want to eat even more.

Hormonal fluctuations continue to take place in livestock as the days shorten; since humans also experience a physiological shift during this period, a daily journal of diet, emotions and symptoms of illness can be especially useful.

Scouting for squirrels and deer may be more successful as the barometer falls before cool waves and days closer to full moon. Chipping sparrows are leaving the area.

Butterflies that you might still see in the field and garden include skippers, seallowtails, cabbage whites, sulphurs, coppers, azures, viceroys, monarchs, buckeyes, red admirals, tortoise shells, question marks, commas, pearl crescents, fritillaries and graylings.

Almanac classics

The Lucky Chicken

By Tim Pappas

Grafton, Ohio

I was at work one day when my superior came up with a large box. He had found a chicken walking around the parking lot, which was pretty odd, with the lot being in the middle of Cleveland, Ohio.

Since I lived on a farm, my superior was curious if I would tell him what kind of breed it was. I told him it was a barred rock hen, a good laying breed, in good shape and told him it was worth $5-$10.

Satisfied with this information, he asked if I’d take the bird and give it a home. “Sure thing,” I replied, as my wife had an assortment of chickens on our farm in Grafton and could surely take on one more.

At day’s end, I was homebound with a boxed hen and, on arrival, went through the usual routine of dog greetings followed (always second) by my wife. But before I could tell her about the new acquisition, she told me about a missing hen – a barred rock!

Suddenly the mystery was solved. The previous evening, a heavy rainstorm caught us out in the barn. As we made a dash for the house, my wife saw a rock hen perched under my truck on the rear axle. Since I leave for work well before dawn, that hen rode the truck’s undercarriage for 32 miles of major highway travel.

Upon being released from the cardboard box, the lucky chicken ran straight to her stall and nest box, where she promptly laid her egg. No worse for wear, she went right to work scratching gravel in the drive and bugs in the pasture.

In her older age, due to her unbelievable adventure, she received a private house with an outdoor run and lived out the life of a happy (and very lucky) chicken.