August 13-19, 2018

And August comes, when fields are sere and brown,

When stubble takes the place of ruffling corn;

When the sweet grass is like a prisoner shorn;

The air is full of drifting thistledown,

Grey pointed sprites, that on the breezes ride.

-V. Sackville-West

The Blackberry Jam moon, new on August 11, waxes all week, entering its first quarter at 2:48 a.m. on August 18. Rising in the afternoon and setting at night, this moon passes overhead (its strongest position) in the evening.

This month, the sun moves halfway between summer solstice and autumn equinox, entering Virgo and reaching Cross-Quarter Day on August 23.

All four major planets are still visible after dark. Mars and Saturn travel along the southern horizon after sundown. Venus is the brightest evening star due west, followed by Jupiter in the southwest.

In the late-night sky, the Summer Triangle shifts into the west, following June’s Corona Borealis and Hercules. Delphinus, the Dolphin, is due south. After midnight, autumn’s Pleiades rise up over the northeastern tree line. After the Perseid Meteors pass through on August 12, no other major meteor shower occurs in August.

Weather trends

Last week, chances for 90s were steady about 40 percent. Suddenly, those chances are reduced by half, and August 17 is the last day of the year on which a high of 100 degrees is still reasonable to expect. This shift to autumn often goes unnoticed, since highs in the 80s continue to dominate the afternoons.

Brisk highs in the 60s, however, occur 5 percent of the days on record. The weather in the third week of August is relatively stable, bringing highs in the 90s on 20 percent of the afternoons, milder 80s about 55 percent of the time and cool 70s the remaining 25 percent.

August 19, however, breaks from the pattern many years, and it has the highest frequency of 90s (35 percent chance) of any other day in the month. Chances for rain increase from 20 percent at the beginning of the period to 30 by August 21, then drop abruptly to just 10 percent on August 22.

Nostalgia often accompanies the steady transformation of the landscape. Memories proliferate, the mind traveling back through the concentric circles of the years, sorting and ruminating. And the day’s length, which shortened only 2 hours between solstice and today, suddenly collapses, shedding an entire additional hour between now and September’s equinox, creating a sudden surge of energy in some people; a sudden sadness, in others.

The natural calendar

The third week of August brings Judas maple time to the lower Midwest. Complementing that maple season, sumac, poison ivy and Virginia creeper reddening grow along the fencerows. In the woodlots, Wild Plum Season compounds the sweetness of Elderberry Season.

Deep in the woods, Puffball Mushroom Season commences as the whip-poor-will, cedar waxwing and catbird migration seasons open. Goldenrod Season presages September as Ironweed Season and Wingstem Season continue to brighten the fields, and the height of Tall Bellflower Season softens the mood of the decaying undergrowth with stalks of powder blue.

Rows of lanky great mulleins, black and gone to seed, line the bike paths and roadways. Pokeweed plants are the size of small trees, with purple stalks and berries. The panicled dogwood shows pale fruit, its leaves fading pink. Trefoils decay, and staghorns darken brown above their red or yellow leaves.

Fish, insects, livestock and birds: In August, the last spicebush swallowtails visit the garden. Tiger swallowtails and giant swallowtails often remain into September. Grackle flocking increases while cardinal song becomes fainter. Murmurings of starlings become more common, and long flocks of blackbirds follow the harvest.

Scout woodlots for deer as acorns ripen and fall. Fish are more likely to bite in the late afternoon as the moon passes overhead and the barometer is dropping in advance of the August 17 and 21 cold fronts.

Field and garden

Puffball mushroom hunting season begins if the nights are cool and wet enough. The best of hickory nutting season begins. Plum and pear picking is underway, and long flocks of blackbirds head north to clean up after harvest of field crops. Wild plums are ready for jelly.

If you plant your spinach now, it should overwinter and provide an early spring crop. Garlic planting begins along the Canadian border. In the East and Midwest, wait until October or November.

Scout fields for late-season pests, for larval feeding scars, a sign of rootworm damage, second brood corn borer, second generation of bean leaf beetles and rootworm beetles.

Marketing notes: The Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha: (Festival of Sacrifice) takes place on August 21-25. Lambs and kids in the range of 55-80 pounds are favored for this market. And make plans for Labor Day sales at farmers’ markets and your roadside stand.

Late summer and early fall can produce the worst infestations of worm larvae. Have an “egg per gram” count done on stool samples of your goats and sheep, one of the best ways to see the concentration of larvae.

Almanac classics

What’s the Matter with Your Drink?

By Eunice Hicks

Willard, Ohio

My friend Angie was babysitting for her sister’s little boy, Jerroid, who was 3 years old. Some of Angie’s friends and I were sitting at her table talking and laughing when Jerroid came up to us.

“I think I’ll make some hot chocolate with little marshmallows for you, Jerroid,” said Angie. “Would you like that?”

Jerroid said he would, and Angie made the chocolate and set it on the table to cool. When it was ready, she put it down on Jerroid’s little table. He sat down on his little chair. Then he looked at the cup of chocolate for the longest time.

He looked and looked into the cup. “What’s the matter, Jerroid?” Angie asked, after a while. “Why haven’t you touched your drink?”

Finally, Jerroid turned to his Aunt Angie: “I can’t drink this,” he complained. “It’s got someone’s teeth in it!”

And indeed, the hot chocolate had been poured right into a glass that contained a set of false teeth!