March 22-28, 2010
Where does the sun rise and set throughout the year, how does the light change, and how do the shadows play? We should observe the seasonal drama of the air, its heat and cold, its moisture and color, its fragrances. We need to know which way the winds blow, and what dust or pollen they carry.

What birds, beasts, insects and wild plants are native to the area? What crops thrive there? What bushes and flowers and trees blossom in that place, and when? What creatures sing? The answers to those questions help reveal where we actually live.

-Scott Russell Sanders
Lunar phase and lore

The Golden Goldfinch Moon, entering its second quarter on March 23, waxes gibbous throughout the week, becoming completely full on March 29 at 10:25 p.m. Rising in the afternoon and evening and setting before dawn, this moon will be overhead in late evening.
With the waxing moon above you at night this week, try fishing after supper. The combination of warming air and water temperatures, near-full moon time and the sun’s position halfway to summer solstice should create some of the finest angling conditions so far this year.

If you can’t make it out at night, do the second-best thing: Fish in the morning, when the moon is right under your feet, especially as the barometer drops with the approach of the March 24 and 29 and April 2 cold fronts.

Now it’s Big Supper Week. If you eat what you should (including lots of vegetables and fruits), then the full moon won’t pull you into the kitchen and fill you with sweets and make you fatter.

Avoid troublesome people when the moon is full. Expect challenges from children, parents and partners. If you work at the hospital, be ready for more work in the emergency room.

Plant as much as you can, indoors and out, this week. The waxing moon should encourage sprouting.

Jupiter and Venus remain the morning stars of late March and April, and Saturn continues to traverse the night in Virgo. Mars follows Orion in Cancer, slowly drifting retrograde (that is, east) toward Leo.
The evening stars are in their equinoctial position now: At 10 o’clock this week, Regulus is the brightest star overhead. Orion sets in the west, June’s Arcturus is rising in the east and the Big Dipper lies deep on the south side of the North Star.

Weather patterns

On March 23, odds for morning frost are about one in two, but on March 29, those odds fall to just one in four. Through March 28, cold afternoons in the 30s still happen one year in 10 or 15, but then on March 29-30, chances for such cold drop to less than 5 percent for the first time since the end of October.

March 25-28 are the driest and sunniest days of the week, each bringing a 60 percent chance or better of a break in the clouds. March 29 is the day most likely to bring overcast conditions; the sun is absent on that date 65 percent of the time, and rain falls 50 percent of the time. March 27 is the day this week most likely to produce thunder and lightning.

The sun’s declination moves well past the midpoint of its ascent toward June solstice this week, reaching a declination of 2 degrees, 56 minutes on March 28, about 55 percent of the way toward summer.

When does middle spring actually arrive? Count the days until April 1.

Almanac daybook

March 22: Zeitgebers for this week include the blooming of blue scilla and pushkinia; question mark butterflies appear; mourning cloak butterflies sometimes fly down the streets; and white cabbage butterflies visit the snow crocus.

In central Minnesota, robins finally arrive; red-winged blackbirds are nesting along the fencerows throughout the country; sugaring is normally in full swing in Vermont; and on the Platte River in Nebraska, the Sandhill cranes have assembled and are waiting to depart for Canada until around April 10.

March 23: The moon enters its second quarter today, a favorable time for planting all vegetables that will produce their fruit above the ground. In the West, winter rains should be coming to an end and shearing time begins for flockmasters.

March 24: The March 24 weather system is relatively mild, and it is followed by some of the driest and brightest days so far in the year.

March 25: When you see butterflies, catfish are getting ready to feed and yellow-bellied sapsuckers are mating.

March 26: In wilderness areas of the Southwest, late March brings the peak of wildflower season. Golden corydalis, desert phlox, desert chicory, spiderwort, popcorn flower, thistle poppy, fiddlenecks, deer vetch, desert anemone, scorpion flower, strawberry hedgehog cactus and pincushion cactus are in bloom.
March 27: Haying begins throughout many southern states after the final March cold front passes through. Transition your livestock slowly from the last of the old hay to the first of the new.

March 28: Sweet corn planting time begins in the country’s midsection; corn is knee-high in the South. Commercial potato, sugar beet, carrot and red beet planting is usually underway in the North.

Living with the seasons

Fertilize evergreens before spring growth gets too far advanced, then spread manure on the flower and vegetable plots. Dig in fertilizer for spring bulbs due during April and May. Topdress your winter wheat.

March 28 is Palm Sunday. If you have lambs or kids for sale, expect Easter Market sales to start taking off.
If your property gets too much spring rain, your pasture plants can have an unusually high water content, and your livestock may not get enough nutrition from this forage. Consider using supplements until the land dries out.

One way to fight spring fever is to give in to it. Another is just to try to notice as much of the season as you can. If you only pay attention to the beauty of the day for one or two minutes of the week, then spring can be over for you in about 20 minutes. And that means all the spiritual and physical urges that normally accompany the season will be mixed up inside you, causing moodiness and a sense of frustration.

To combat those feelings, pay closer attention to what is going on in the natural world. Spring will last longer that way, and you’ll be able to get it in – and out – of your system without undue angst.