Nov. 13-19, 2017 Our November day itself is like spring water. It is melted frost, dissolved snow. There is a chill in it and an exhilaration also. The forenoon is all morning and the afternoon all evening. The shadows seem to come forth and to revenge themselves upon the day. The sunlight is diluted with darkness. The colors fade from the landscape, and only the sheen of the river lights up the gray and brown distance.” -John Burroughs Almanac horoscope Moon time: As apple cider time comes to a close, people set paperwhite and amaryllis bulbs in shallow water for holiday blooms, and on Nov. 18, the new moon is the Paperwhite Moon, completely dark at 6:42 a.m. It reaches apogee, its gentle position farthest from Earth, on Nov. 21. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening, this moon passes overhead around midday. Sun time: In November’s third week, the rate of increase in the length of the night finally begins to slow to about 10 minutes in seven days, instead of 15 minutes. By Nov. 20, however, sunrise time is close to half an hour later than it was on Halloween, and sunset time is just a few minutes from its earliest setting time of the year. Planet time: Saturn becomes more difficult to see as it rides Ophiuchus into the sunset. Shooting star time: The Leonid meteors continue active between Nov. 15-21 in the east in Leo after midnight. The Leonid Meteors can also be used to start a countdown for the arrival of spring. When those shooting stars fall, then only 30 major cold fronts remain in winter, 20 of which will coincide with changes in the phase of the moon. Star time: After dark, find Cassiopeia and Cepheus almost overhead between the Milky Way and the North Star. The Big Dipper will lie along the northern horizon. Due south, the scattered star groups of Pisces and Aquarius wander above the tree line, anchored by Fomalhaut. Weather time As the Nov. 16 front approaches, expect milder conditions, but an increased chance for rain or snow. Although the Nov. 16 system can be gentle, sometimes it brings highs only in the teens or even 20s as far south as Kentucky. After the front moves through, favorable harvest conditions typically follow. The Nov. 20 front: The fifth major high to cross the nation in November usually begins to complicate the holiday travel season, and the chances for deep snow increase in the North. Like all the fronts of November and December, this one pushes the hard-freeze line well into the South. Apogee on Nov. 21, however, does increase the chances for milder conditions. Zeitgebers: Euonymus berries split and reveal their orange seeds, beech leaves fall and winter wheat is often 2-4 inches tall in the fields. Craneflies are half-grown; they become more obvious as some of the few insects out in the cool weather, spinning in the sun. In a warm fall, spring's new henbit can be budding. But decorative pear leaves often fall near this date, creating a major change in the urban landscape. Beech, honeysuckles, boxwood, forsythia and the strongest of the maples, Osage, pears and sycamores keep scattered color in the landscape past Thanksgiving. When early winter arrives between Dec. 8-15, however, it takes almost all the holdouts. Field and garden time The power of the moon increases in the final days of its cycle. Seeds planted now often sprout earlier and grow more vigorously than seeds sown at other lunar times. Feed the lawn – fall is a better time than in the spring. The winter's rain and snow, freezing and thawing, will gently work the fertilizer through the soil. Work gypsum into the soil where salt, used to melt winter's ice, may damage plantings. Mulch the wet perennial beds to prevent drying, January's heaving and cold damage. This is a perfect lunar week for setting in all your indoor bulbs like amaryllis and paperwhites. If you plant them now, they should grow well as the dark moon waxes. The week is also excellent for all livestock maintenance activities, especially worming, vaccinations, crutching and facing ewes, dipping for parasites and trimming feet. Marketing time: Muhammad’s birthday is Dec. 1 for Sunni Muslims and Dec. 6 for Shia Muslims. Consider investigating this market area for your lambs and kids. Also prepare to market your poinsettias, Christmas cacti and herbs. You might even think about selling a few Christmas trees this year. Mind and body time New moon on Nov. 18 is likely to increase Seasonal Affective Disorder for people who are having an adverse reaction to the collapse of the leaf canopy. And rheumatism increases as the weather grows colder, often foretelling precipitation; aches and pains may flare up the most at the approach of the Nov. 16 and 20 cold fronts. Creature time (for fishing, hunting, feeding, bird-watching): Fish near midday when the moon is overhead. Your luck should improve as the cold fronts of Nov. 16 and 20 approach. If the fish bite, game will be moving in the woods; pets and children may be more troublesome at school, and hospital patients are likely to be more restless. On the other hand, the first rutting period for deer usually comes to a close this week, lessening the chances that they will run in front of your car. Almanac classics On the Longevity of Fish Newspapers in the 19th century often tried to pad their news with strange facts and figures. On Nov. 30, 1871, the Celina Journal published the following curious information: Fish have great tenacity of life. It is believed that the carp has attained the age of 150, and the pike a still greater age. In fact, a pike was caught in a lake in south Germany in 1497 on which was found a ring bearing this inscription: “I am the fish which was first of all put into this lake by the hands of the Governor of the Universe, Frederick II, 5th of October 1230.” The fish weighed 350 pounds and was nineteen feet long. An Amazing Jump A 19th century news “exchange” sent newspaper subscribers all manner of odd material. Here’s something from August 1887: An Eastern newspaper reports that an eight-ounce green frog has jumped an amazing 94 feet. But it turns out that the amphibian, startled by the approach of a bird, accidently leapt off a cliff above the Hudson River. Poor Will’s Almanack for 2018 is now available. Order yours online from Amazon.com or, for an autographed copy, order from www.poorwillsalmanack.com You can also purchase Bill Felker’s new book of essays, Home is the Prime Meridian, from these sites. Poor Will pays $4 for stories used in this column; send to Poor Will’s Almanack at P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 or email wlfelker@gmail.com And, listen to Poor Will's “Radio Almanack” on podcast anytime at www.wyso.org |
