April 19-25, 2010

I have planted by the stars in defiance of the experts,
and tilled somewhat by incantation and by singing,
and reaped, as I knew by luck and Heaven’s favor,
in spite of the best advice.

-Wendell Berry
Lunar phase and lore

The Rhubarb Pie Moon, entering its second quarter April 21 at 2:21 a.m., waxes gibbous throughout the week, becoming totally full at 8:18 a.m. April 28.

With the moon waxing, plant all the field and garden crops you can. The big corn push begins all across the central states now, and 10-30 percent of that crop is usually in the ground by this time of the month. Tobacco sowing is almost completed, too.

The moon will be overhead in the evening this week. Do your fishing then, along the inlets warmed by the afternoon sun. Schedule a couple of extra hours on the water before the cool fronts of the April 24 and 28.

Late peas should sprout quickly if planted now, and even tender garden vegetables should be all right if you cover their sprouts when frost threatens. Cut asparagus and rhubarb and pull the commercial radishes as the moon gets fuller and fuller; they should be fat with lunar moisture.

If you have an early, well-balanced supper, you may be able to resist the moon-induced hunger pains that will strike fish and humans between 4-11 p.m.

Weather patterns

After April 22, chances for snow drop below 10 percent. Chances for a cold day in the 30s or 40s fall to only 10 percent on that day, then plummet another 5 percent on April 26. The period between April 19-27 is the driest time of the whole month, but chances for rain rise above 50 percent for the last two days of the month.

Late spring arrives this week, bringing all the weeds up out of the ground and turning the undergrowth green with honeysuckle leaves. Bluebell, toad trillium, bellwort, meadow rue, ragwort, columbine, white violet, winter cress, small-flowered buttercup, large-flowered trillium, wood betony, miterwort, jack-in-the-pulpit and rue anemone are flowering.

Wild phlox, wild geranium, wild ginger, celandine, spring cress, sedum, golden Alexander, thyme-leafed speedwell, garlic mustard and common fleabane are budding. Out in the fields, cutworms and sod webworms are starting to attack.

The sun is setting pretty close to half past eight and making the evenings seem like June evenings. At midnight, the brightest star overhead is Arcturus, the brightest western star is Regulus and the brightest light in the east is Vega. And those are summer stars!

Almanac daybook

April 19: In the Northwest, Kestrel hawks are nesting and aspens flower. In Vermont, trout fishing time begins. The crocuses are blooming in Minneapolis. Azaleas are open in Norfolk, rhododendrons in St. Louis.

Dogwoods are at their best in Atlanta. Mobile, Ala., looks like an Indiana June. Along the north Atlantic coast, mackerel move toward inshore waters.

April 20: The second major tornado period of April begins now – lasting, in most years, until April 27. The moon’s weak position at the beginning of the period lessens the chance that storms will occur. Full moon on April 28, however, could extend this tornado period a few extra days.

April 21: Zeitgebers of this week includes budding peonies and buckeyes in flower. When you eat that pie, you know that watercress is flowering in the wetlands. At the same time, swamp ragwort, Greek Valerian, rue anemone, early meadow rue, columbine, wild geranium and large-flowered trillium come into bloom.

April 22: Prepare soil and seeds for new moon planting two days from now. Under the dark moon, destroy tent caterpillars as they hatch; then, plant all your remaining root crops.

April 23: Spring rains and humidity, especially in southern states, can increase the risk of internal parasites in livestock. Make use of stool sample analysis to ensure that drenching has been effective.

April 24: Following the April 24 cool front, chances for frost virtually disappear in the South and become relatively insignificant throughout much of the North.

April 25: The high leaf canopy is beginning to fill in, casting shade on the flower and vegetable garden. Scarlet tanagers appear in the woods; meadow parsnip, wood betony, honeysuckle, buckeye and red horse-chestnut flower.

Living with the seasons

It’s so beautiful outside, and you have so much planting to do, how can you possibly feel bad?

Well, some people do have a tendency to feel a little down in the springtime – and there are many reasons why that might be. One reason is that other people – maybe those with more money – seem to have more time to enjoy the fine weather. Or maybe you see young lovers walking around hand in hand, while you are alone at this point in your life. Spring can promise everything, but we are not always able to find fulfillment of those promises in our lives.
If we can combat our jealousy, however, and look for ways to enjoy the things we do have, we are taking the first step toward a fulfilling season.

Almanac classics
Guardian Angels on the Farm
By Stanley R. Pierce
Mio, Mich.

This event took place more than a quarter-century ago while I was living in a farm area east of Lansing, Mich. My steady job was driving a truck for a wholesale lumber firm two days a week. In between, I was helping at random tasks when an extra man was needed on the farm.

One day we were topping off a silo after it had been filled a week earlier with corn silage. We were salvaging two rows that had been cut by hand to open the field for a tractor mounted field chopper. The silage had been tossed aside in loose bundles.

The owner had a lad about 15 years old helping part-time too, and the boy was the designated tractor driver with a one-row front-mounted chopper. For safety’s sake, the outer feeding fingers mechanism was disengaged.

We had been working about a half-hour, and I was gathering up a bundle about 40 feet from the chopper. As I straightened up, I noticed the lad standing very close to the machine and kicking at the stalks with his right foot. He was facing slightly towards me, and his expression was of fear. I quickly dropped the armful of stalks and rushed forward to see if he was all right. The latch on the lever that engaged the feeding fingers was sloppy, and it had slipped into gear. I could see its fingers were clawing on his pants leg at thigh level.

Here I should say that I was totally unfamiliar with the controls on the chopper. I estimated it would take at least a minute to get to the rear of the tractor and figure out how to throw that mechanism out of gear, and his leg could be pulled in where other fingers could get hold, too.

So, I grasped him around the waist and lifted him upwards and back at least a foot to safety. His only comment: “Aww, I was already just about loose!”

It surely didn’t look that way to me. The pants leg was torn in two places, and when he unbuckled his belt and let his pants down to see how much he was hurt, I could see a ragged scratch about six inches long, with a little trickle of blood.

I had nightmares for quite a while after that, and I vowed if that farmer ever asked me to help again in that or a similar operation, I’d want to be shown where the controls were to shut down rather than risk my safety, too.