Oct. 13-19, 2008
When I walk the fields, I am oppressed now and then with an innate feeling that everything I see has a meaning, if I could but understand it. And this feeling of being surrounded with truths which I cannot grasp amounts to indescribable awe sometimes.

-Charles Kingsley
The astronomical outlook

The Robin Migration Moon, full on Oct. 14, wanes throughout the period, entering its final quarter at 6:55 a.m. on Oct. 21. Rising in the middle of the night and setting in the middle of the day, this moon is overhead in the early morning. Lunar position could hinder viewing of the Orionid meteors that appear in Orion during the early morning hours of Oct. 21-22.

Oct. 23 is Cross Quarter Day, the halfway mark between autumn equinox and winter solstice. The sun enters Scorpio at the same time. Within just a few weeks of September’s equinox, the sun has traveled half the distance to winter.

The weather

Lows in the 20s or 30s are most likely to occur on the mornings of Oct. 19-20, with the second day carrying the highest chances for frost so far this season: a full 30 percent chance for a light freeze, and an additional 20 percent chance for a hard freeze.
While most afternoons are in the 50s and 60s, Oct. 15-16 each have a 40 percent chance for highs in the 70s or 80s, and the other days at least have a 30 percent chance of such temperatures. The coolest days can be Oct. 19-20, when – for the first time all fall – there is a five to 10 percent chance for a high only in the 30s.
Most days this week have a 30 percent chance for precipitation. The days most likely to produce snow are Oct. 18-20, but only in five to 10 percent of all the years.

Almanac daybook

Oct. 13: Middle fall begins today, and the coldest morning so far in the season often occurs as the Oct. 13 cold front arrives. Chances of a low in the teens or 20s reach 20 percent in the northern half of the country for the first time since spring.

This front is also the first to bring a serious chance of snow flurries at average elevations along the 40th Parallel. Full moon on Oct. 14 greatly increases the likelihood that this front will be stronger than usual.

Oct. 14: Along the roadsides, asters and goldenrods show obvious declines this week. In garden ponds above the Gulf States, water lilies stop blooming, a sign of cooler water temperatures and lesser amounts of sunlight.

Best lunar grain harvest conditions, as well as the most propitious lunar times for clipping hair, trimming hooves, worming livestock, putting on shingles and having surgery, should occur as the moon wanes.

Oct. 15: Late pastures often contain less nutrition when soil temperatures drop near 40 degrees. Consequently, late autumn feeding can be tricky; your animals may have plenty to eat, depending on the weather, but their grazing may give them less nutrition and energy than in the summer months.

Oct. 16: The heaviest time of Halloween market sales begins in the middle of October, as rutting time begins for deer along the 40th Parallel.

This week’s waning moon is favorable for pruning shrubs or trees to retard growth, and for killing weeds.

Also, complete autumn culling of sheep and goats before all your grain disappears. Start with the wethers: October is one of the year’s strongest wether market months.

Oct. 17: In the alleys, only the pink smartweed seems impervious to the shortening days. Along the fencerows, brown beggarticks stick to your stockings and the winged seeds of Japanese knotweed fall. Witch hazel, the last of the flowering shrubs, comes into bloom.

Oct. 18: In the cooler, wetter nights, crickets and katydids are weakening, but woolly bears are suddenly everywhere on the back roads when the sun breaks through. Monarch butterflies have left the Midwest for Mexico.

“St. Luke’s Little Summer,” a traditional time of clear, dry weather starts today and ends Oct. 28. Rose hips are turning orange. Blueberry bushes are red. Only a few swallowtails and fritillaries visit the garden now, and just a few fireflies glow in the grass.

Oct. 19: Mulch root crops to keep them from turning to mush when the ground freezes solid. You may also want to heap leaves or straw around kale and collards in order to keep these hardy vegetables alive through the heavy frosts to come.

On the farm, almost all the corn has been cut for silage. Fifty out of every 100 soybeans have been taken from their stalks. Soil temperatures have ordinarily fallen into the 50s; pasture growth slows.

Mind and body clock

The great leaf turn is peaking, and the mind and body aren’t used to such rapid change. The summer heat and greenery seemed to last forever, and so we often feel autumn will last a long time, too – even though we know it won’t.

Since there will only be a week more to enjoy the reds, golds and yellows, schedule plenty of time for walks or drives in parks or along country roads. If you are commuting to work, slow down a little; take the time to notice the beauty around you. Even though we can’t actually make fall last longer, we can spend a longer amount of time with it.

Fish, game, livestock and diet

The waxing moon will be overhead after midnight this week. Fish and wild game typically feed more with the moon in that position, and livestock may be more inclined to eat. Dieters traditionally have a harder time dieting then, too.

As the barometer falls prior to the arrival of the Oct. 17 and 23 cool fronts, interest in food often increases for fish and other creatures.

Almanac literature
Henny Penny
By Patty Greene
Rockville, Ind.

My daughter, Mandy, had a little red hen she called Henny Penny because of the children’s story of that name. This little hen decided to sit. The only problem was that the poor little thing only had two eggs under her.

Mandy decided to help her along. She took the two eggs away and replaced them with 12 duck eggs.

One day, Mandy went to the barn and Henny Penny had hatched her eggs, 11 beautiful little yellow fluff balls: Baby ducks. Everything went well the first couple of days. Then, it happened – all the little ducklings climbed into the water bowl.

Henny Penny was frantic. She kept trying to get them out of the water bowl, but they kept getting right back into the water and swimming around. Finally, Henny Penny gave up and let them have their fun.

She had them under her wings for a week or two. Then, she had to give up because they grew so fast that when they got under her wings at night, she was totally off the ground.

Finally, Henny Penny got her “chicks” raised, but she was confused when they kept going back to the lake!

Poor Will needs sheep, goat, horse, dog, cat, hog, chicken, duck and goose stories. Send your tale to Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Three dollars will go to the author of any story printed in this column.