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‘Singing worm’ week is nearly upon us, the first bit of March

Feb. 23 -March 1, 2009
Winter will lash back again out of the north, bringing snow and freezing weather … But spring will advance nonetheless, silently and unnoticed. The rearguard actions of winter will be repulsed in the end; the higher sun will assert its dominance through the longer days, and the winds will dry the fallow land wherein a million shoots from the seeds of last year’s growth are slowly stirring.

-Eliot Porter
The astronomical outlook

The Shining Grackle Moon, new at 8:35 p.m. on Feb. 24, waxes throughout the week, entering its second quarter at 2:46 a.m. on March 4. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening, the dark moon will be overhead in the early afternoon.

Before dawn, all the constellations that ride the Milky Way into summer lie in the east. To the far north, Cassiopeia zigzags towards Cepheus, the house-like constellation just east of the North Star.

Following the Milky Way to the south, find Cygnus, the Northern Cross, shining above you. Below Cygnus is Aquila, with its bright star Altair; below that, summer’s Sagittarius.

The weather

This is the first week of the year (and the first week since last November) in which a high of 70 degrees becomes possible (10 percent). Chances for afternoon highs in the teens and 20s drop to between five and 10 percent per day – the first time that has happened since early December.

Temperatures also climb into the 50s and 60s thirty percent of the time, but they reach the 30s and 40s 50-60 percent of the time.
Although the first cold front of the month arrives on March 3, bringing a 65 percent chance for highs in the 40s or below, the first quarter of the month brings a steady 10 percent chance for an afternoon in the 70s for the first time since early November. In fact, 70s occur more often on March 2-3 than on any days in the first three weeks of this month.

Fifties or 60s occur about 30 percent of the time, similar to what happened during February’s third week. This time, however, the percentage never drops below that level until late autumn. The chances for that warmth dissipate somewhat as the first cold front of the month comes through on March 3.

Weather systems of March

Although March is the most unpredictable month of spring, certain weather patterns are visible in the majority of years: the first 10 days of the period are usually the coldest and a second major cool spell is often experienced between March 15-22.

Milder south winds normally prevail during the second and especially the fourth weeks.

Dates for the arrival of the month’s weather systems are March 2, 5 (usually the most severe front of the month), 9 (ordinarily followed by quite mild temperatures), 14, 19 (frequently the second-coldest front of March), 24 (typically followed by the best weather so far in the year) and 29.

These fronts are all accompanied by shifts in temperature and barometric pressure that affect the behavior of livestock, pets and people.

Almanac daybook

Feb. 23: By the end of the week, clover and wild violet leaves often start to grow; horseradish stretches out to an inch or two and rhubarb pushes up four or five inches. Honeysuckle buds are unraveling on the lowest branches. Snow trillium blossoms appear in the bottomlands.

Feb. 24: Today is Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday.” Christian Lent begins tomorrow, just as Snowdrop Winter chills the snowdrops and aconites that blossomed in the first warmth of early spring. New moon today is expected to make Snowdrop Winter especially fierce this year.

Feb. 25: Killdeer, rusty blackbirds, and canvasback ducks migrate. Horned owlets hatch in the woods. Sweet corn has been planted along the Gulf coast. Redbuds and azaleas are in full bloom there, rhododendrons just starting to come in.

In the lowlands of the South, swamp buttercups are open, as are violets, black medic, everything one to two months ahead of Ohio and Indiana time.

Feb. 26: This is an average date for tulips, hyacinths and lilies-of-the-valley to be emerging from the ground. Woodcocks and brown-headed cowbirds are arriving. Downy woodpeckers rattle on the trees. Bobwhites are calling.

Feb. 27: Great flocks of blackbirds and grackles move across the nation as February comes to an end.

Feb. 28: The days now lengthen at the rate of 60 seconds every 160 minutes. That length on the first of March is about 11-and-one-quarter hours. Four-and-one-half weeks later, just as the first hepatica is blooming, the time between sunrise and sunset has stretched to more than l2-and-a-half hours.

March 1: Continue seeding in flats (or directly in the ground) vegetables that will produce their fruit above ground as the moon waxes. Put in flowers, too. Plant spring wheat when field conditions permit. Complete spraying your fruit trees with dormant oil.

March 2: Even in the coldest years, pussy willows squeeze out by the first week of March. They open well before the crocus and the henbit, partial to around a dozen thaw days: maybe five or six in the upper 40s, one or two near 60 and about three warm rains.
The catkins generally reach their prime in seven days. They peak just about the time that the first buzzards arrive, between March 12-18.

March 3: Put in oats or ryegrass for quick vegetative cover.
March 4: As soil conditions permit, test the pastures for nutrients. There is still time to add fertilizer to maximize your grazing and hay production, as well as your lawn vitality.

March 5: Stormy conditions with rain or snow are associated with the March 5 front. If you are stuck indoors, get out the calendar and figure the proper time to get your health certificates for the different animals you plan to show at the fair this summer.

Mind and body clock

March is traditionally a month for digging out after winter isolation. It is a time for spring cleaning, reorganization and getting things in order for the warm weather to come. Some studies show that peak productivity in humans begins in March and continues through May, after which efficiency declines through the mild summer months.

Fish, game, livestock and diet

The waxing moon will be overhead in the afternoon this week. Fish and wild game typically feed more heavily at that time, 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 Feb. 24 and 27 and March 3 cold fronts, interest in food often increases for fish and other creatures.

2/18/2009