August 27-Sept. 2, 2018

The air sizzles with insect song. Crickets and grasshoppers warn and wook, rubbing their musical legs. They make the sound of beans rolling in a pan, tiny bells ringing on the ankles of dancers, fingers raked over the teeth of combs, waves rolling cobbles on the shore.

-Scott Russell Sanders

Full on August 26, the Blackberry Jam Moon wanes throughout the period, entering its last quarter at 9:37 p.m. on Sept. 2.

The sun's position is the same now as in early April, and the rate of the night's expansion increases from middle summer's 2 minutes per day to 3 minutes. In another week, the day's length will drop below 13 hours.

Venus in Virgo continues to be the giant evening star in the far west. Jupiter follows at her heels in Libra in the southwest.

Cygnus, the Northern Cross, with Deneb its brightest star, becomes a sky guide for autumn, moving slightly west from its central August position. Leading it on, just a little further west, is Lira and its major star, Vega. Below Cygnus lie Aquila and its keystone, Altair.

Weather trends

Weather history suggests the cold waves of early fall usually cross the Mississippi River on or about the following dates: Sept. 2, 8, 12, 15, 20, 24 and 29. Tornadoes, hail, floods or prolonged periods of soggy pasture are most likely to occur in connection with tropical storms, especially near lunar perigee on Sept. 7, new moon on Sept. 9 and full moon on Sept. 24.

The effects of the first month’s cold wave usually appear by Sept. 2, which is the first day since June 4 that 90s become unlikely. Then on Sept. 3, there is a 55 percent chance of highs only in the 70s. Sept. 4 also brings a good chance of chilly weather, and it begins the long period of the year during which there is at least a 10 percent chance of highs below 70 degrees.

Warmer conditions typically return on Sept. 5-6, but the second high-pressure system of the month, which arrives between Sept. 5-11, brings lows into the 30s one year in 20.

September’s relatively pleasant temperatures and clear skies keep S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at bay throughout most of the month. In addition, hormonal energy may increase at this time of year, creating an “autumn surge” that combats S.A.D.

Field and garden

Cottonwoods fade as the goldenrod turns and the soybean fields yellow. The commercial tomato harvest is half complete, and four out of every 10 potatoes have been dug. Soybeans are beginning to shed, and the harvest has begun in southern counties. Twenty-five percent of the corn is often mature by the end of this week, and the silage cutting picks up speed.

Marketing notes: Cool autumn weather may be right for you to begin your worm farm as the first step in a bait sales diversification. Labor Day is an excellent time to introduce mums, pansies, gourds and pumpkins to your roadside stand; and Sept. 9-11, Rosh Hashanah, is the Jewish New Year and first High Holiday.

The natural calendar: Berries are red on the silver olives, orange on the American mountain ash, purple on the pokeweed. Wild cherries have disappeared from their branches. Touch-me-nots burst at the slightest touch. Cobwebs are everywhere in the woods, and the number of butterflies swells in the gardens.

When the days are cool, the cicadas are quiet. On the colder nights, the katydids refuse to chant and the frogs are silent. Sandhill cranes start to arrive in Midwest wetlands on their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Doves stop calling before dawn, until February.

Fish, insects, livestock and birds: Kingbirds, finches, ruddy ducks, herring gulls and yellow-bellied sapsuckers move south. The last young grackles and hummingbirds leave their nests. Fish and game often become more active as the waning moon passes overhead between midnight and dawn this week, especially as the cool front of Sept. 2 approaches.

Almanac classics

Smart Critters

By Bill Wiseman

Oh, you won’t believe the trouble I’ve had with critters this year coming into the barn and my workshop. We have a cat door from outside into the barn and another into the workshop. I found out that the most destructive ones that get in are the cute raccoons.

They get really angry if they don’t find any food. They have knocked over work projects, have messed up some equipment and they ate a hole in the glue bottle to see what was in it. What a mess!

I thought, I’ll fix them. I took an old birdcage and made a trap. I caught some. No trouble at all. Except the critters, with their perseverance and strong sharp claws and teeth, tore the cage to smithereens.

Well, I’m not going to let a raccoon outsmart me. I went out and bought a brand new shining critter trap. Boy, this will fix them! I won’t hurt them … only carry the little rascals to a greater and better place far away.

Success the first night! I got Grandpa Raccoon in the trap. The second night, I didn’t understand what happened. The bait was gone, the trap door closed, plus the whole trap was moved five feet away. How in the world could they do that?

Well, I set it again and watched ’til late at night. Two raccoons paired up and came into the trap together. The first one went to the food, and the second one was under the door and held it open when it released, and they both scrambled out with food.

The next night, I set it again and got out my night-vision binoculars to watch. They were getting real smart now. The pair comes up and one decides to hold open the door with its shoulder while the other goes in and brings out the food that they both share.

The traps are guaranteed for breakage under normal use – but not guaranteed to outsmart the critters.