The perfume of drying leaves was almost unbearably sweet tonight, as a result of a shower just done. All the bottomland gave off this fragrance of drying, the smell so akin to the spring night’s odors – since its origin in the foliage was the same.
-August Derleth, Countryman’s Journal

The Robin Migration Moon full on Oct. 29 rises in the evening and sets in the morning, moving overhead after midnight, making earliest morning the most favorable lunar time for angling and for scouting for game.

Conditions become even more favorable as the cold fronts of Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 approach, pushing down the barometer and making all creatures (especially dieters) hungry. The moon in Taurus Oct. 29-31 and in Cancer Nov. 3-5 offers the best lunar conditions for seeding wheat and a green cover crop for the garden.

Seasonal stress is expected to decline after full moon, so this week might offer fewer emotional challenges than last week.

Venus is still the morning star throughout November. Mars, in Sagittarius, disappears beneath the western horizon just after sunset. Jupiter in Taurus, leads Orion out of the east after dark, moving with that constellation across the sky throughout the night. In the second week of the month, Saturn appears in the east with Virgo several hours before dawn.

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Nov. 4. Set your clocks back one hour.

The chances for warmth in the 70s drop to just 5 percent on Nov. 4, and odds increase for cold throughout the week ahead. Highs just in the 30s or 40s are relatively rare during the final days of October, but by Nov. 5, they occur 25 percent of the time, and chances rise to over 40 percent by Nov. 10.

The coolest days in this period are typically Nov. 6-7, both of which have only about a 15 percent chance for warmth in the 60s. Nov. 3 ushers in the snow season for the central states, flurries or accumulation emerging into the realm of possibility, at least a 10 percent possibility per day between that date and spring.

Chances for a thunderstorm ordinarily disappear until February in the lower Midwest, but all-day rains increase. The first 10 days of November are about twice as rainy as the final 10 of October.

Zeitgebers  (events in nature that tell the time of year) for next week include the blooming of early orchids, jade trees and Christmas cacti indoors, the yellowing of ginkgoes and white mulberries, the sudden turning of the late sugar maples, the slow turning of the silver maples, the reddening of the oaks and the shedding of red mulberry leaves.

Oct. 29: The moon is full today. Expect trick-or-treaters to be a little more rambunctious than usual. The weather should be brisk, however, keeping some of the tricksters at home.

Oct. 30: Schedule garlic planting during the next two weeks, as the moon is waning.

Oct. 31: High pollen counts are over in most of the country until early next spring. Except in the South, average mold counts are typically low at this time, too; usually fewer than 2,000, out of a possible 7,000 grains per cubic meter.

Nov. 1: Spring flower bulbs, garlic, shrubs and trees can be planted in late fall throughout much of the nation as the moon is waning (now). Also during this time, bring in oregano, rosemary, parsley and thyme for winter seasonings.

Stake weaker shrubs and trees. Water paperwhites, daffodils, tulips, crocus and amaryllis in pots for solstice bloom.

Nov. 2: Harvest corn and soybeans, shear sheep, cut your dogs’ nails, trim hair on goats, slaughter livestock, give vaccinations and treat animals for internal and external parasites under the waning moon.

Nov. 3: Thin the woodlot and fencerows as the moon wanes, but leave plenty of shade for your animals. Early November is an excellent time to plant extra shade around the farm and yard.

Only three weeks remain before Thanksgiving. Arrange for local markets to handle your turkeys, ducks, chickens and hams. There is still enough time to advertise what you have in local papers.

Nov. 4: This morning’s end of Daylight Saving Time could cause animals and family members (and maybe even you) to be out of sorts because of the change in feeding and eating schedule.

Seasonal affective disorders may be increasing in many people because of the change in sunset time that accompanies the end of DST. Even though you are getting up when it is lighter outside, the sudden end to the day near suppertime can be upsetting.