Dec. 4-10, 2017 Autumn is finally, officially gone. Like the evening of the day, the fall has been a time of ceaseless alteration. Cold, in the autumn, is overcoming the heart just as darkness, in the evening is overcoming the light. -Edwin Way Teale Almanac horoscope Moon time: The Paperwhite Moon, bringing more holiday paperwhite bulbs into bloom, wanes into its final quarter on Dec. 10 at 2:51 a.m. Rising late at night and setting near midday, this moon passes overhead before dawn. Sun time: On Dec. 14, sunset begins to occur a minute later every 2-3 days. This small advance, however, is offset by the sun rising later in the morning. And the point-counterpoint of time lost and gained creates a weeklong standoff around winter solstice during which the day's length remains its shortest of the year – 9 hours and 20 minutes in this location. Planet time: Mars and Jupiter are the morning stars together in Libra this week. Star time: Traveling relatively close to Mars and Jupiter is the bright star, Arcturus (the fourth-largest star in the sky), just west of those planets. Low in the northeast, Vega is rising. Shooting star time: No shooting stars this week, but if you wait until Dec. 21, when the moon is still dark, you may be able to see the Ursid Meteors. Weather time The Dec. 15 cold wave can bring below-zero temperatures as far south as the Border States, and double-digit below-zero temperatures enter the realm of possibility in the Ohio Valley. Zeitgebers: The absence of migratory birds magnifies the rattle of the remaining downy woodpeckers and isolates the calling of the crows, the chatter of sparrows, chickadees, titmice and kingfishers. Solitary sparrow hawks are back to hunt mice. Only a few ducks overwinter on the rivers. Now barberry shows off its scarlet berries better than at any other time of year. Blood-red staghorns remain on the sumacs. In the garden, hardy flowering cabbage and kale show off their rainbows under clouds or sun. Without snow and ice, the leaves dapple the ground with brindle chromatics, bronze, cinnamon, hazel, fawn and chocolate. Farm and garden time Dec. 18 is new moon day. Plan to seed your bedding plants under lights with gentle radiant heat provided below the flats, if possible. Root grape vine cuttings, too, Check on bulbs that you dug up in autumn, making sure they are not getting moldy. Marketing time: Hanukkah begins on Dec. 12, and Christmas is only two weeks away. As harvest time winds down for grain crops, the holiday market becomes stronger. Christmas cacti, dried flower arrangements, grapevine wreaths and bulbs for forcing may sell briskly at farmers’ markets, offering welcome income to the small farmer and hobbyist. Mind and body time The fourth-quarter moon is most benign during the early days of the week, so plan to do your shopping as soon as you can (the weak moon making shopping less stressful). As the moon darkens, however, (becoming new on Dec. 18) you may become more susceptible to attacks of asthma; one study has shown a positive correlation between new or full moons and respiratory incidents. Creature time: The waning moon will be overhead in before sunup this week; fish and game should be most active at that time. The period prior to the arrival of the Dec. 15 weather system provides the best morning conditions for seeking fish and game. Be alert for pressure on your flock or herd from predators as the cold deepens. Almanac literature What’s in YOUR water? By Rick Taylor Norwich, Ohio It was back on Independence Day in 1976 when an old neighbor called me and said: “My water tastes funny!” So, I drove up to his place and we walked down to his dug well, which was along a township road. We looked down in with a flashlight and discovered two whistle pigs (groundhogs) lying at the bottom of the well. So, I went and got my wooden extension ladder and buckets. I bailed most of the water out of that 32-foot-deep rock-lined circular wall one bucket at a time, and then lowered the ladder down where there was still several feet of water. At the bottom, I was colder than a well-digger’s fanny. When I put the groundhogs in the bucket, their hides came off and their skin was as smooth and soft and white as baby’s skin. And the cold had kept the pigs from getting too rank, and their odor wasn’t very bad. I bailed out the rest of the water and went home tuckered out at age 28 – and I didn’t go to celebrate that Fourth of July at all. |
