Poor Will's Almanack by Bill Felker 

 

Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2014

Hail, old October, bright and chill,

First freedman from the summer sun!

-Thomas Constable

Lunar phase and lore

The Hickory Nutting Moon, new on Sept. 24, waxes crescent through its first phase this week, entering its second and gibbous phase on Oct. 1 at 2:33 p.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting after midnight, this moon moves overhead in the evening, encouraging fish, game and children to be especially active and hungry, doubly so as the first cool front of October approaches.

Lunar position in Capricorn (Sept. 29-Oct. 3) is especially favorable for the setting in of spring bulbs, shrubs and trees.

Weather trends

Weather history suggests cold waves usually reach the lower Midwest on or about the following dates: Oct. 2, 7, 13, 17, 23 and 30. Storms can occur prior to the passage of each major front. The period between Oct. 19-25 historically brings an increased chance for dangerous weather.

The following chart shows the chances that frost will often have occurred by the date indicated. Calculations are based on typical frequency of freezing temperatures at average elevations along the 40th Parallel during the month of October.

The data can be adjusted roughly by adding 5 percent for each 100 miles north or south that Parallel. Local frost histories, of course, offer much greater detail.

Oct. 1: 80 percent chance light frost, 10 percent chance killing frost

Oct. 10: 90 percent chance light frost, 20 percent chance killing frost

Oct. 20: 98 percent chance light frost, 40 percent chance killing frost

Oct. 25: 100 percent chance light frost, 50 percent chance killing frost

Oct. 30: 75 percent chance killing frost

The natural calendar

Sept. 29: Average temperatures now start to fall at the rate of 4 degrees per week almost everywhere in the nation.

Sept. 30: Milkweed pods burst in the wind, prelude to middle fall.

Oct. 1: Peak leaf color typically occurs in late September or early October along the Canadian border. Between New York City and Denver, and in the lower Midwest, the peak occurs in the third week of October.

Below Kentucky expect best coloration between the end of October and the middle of November. Leaves of honeysuckles and forsythia can be expected to last up to four weeks longer than the leaves of the high canopy.

Oct. 2: Venus, hiding in Leo, remains out of sight throughout September. Jupiter rises well before dawn in Cancer and remains the morning star in September. Mars is an evening star, visible in the southwest throughout the month in Scorpio.

Saturn in Libra will be too close to the sun for easy observation in early and middle autumn.

Oct. 3: In mild Octobers and Novembers, cardinals briefly renew their songs. Sometimes a new generation of cabbage butterflies appears. The grass continues to grow, glowing in the low sun. Winter wheat creates patches of emerald green in the countryside.

Oct. 4: The Draconid meteors arrive in the late evenings of Oct. 7 and 8. The Draconids usually appear before midnight, unlike the Orionids, which peak in and around Orion near and after midnight on Oct. 4 and Nov. 14.

Oct. 5: Shagbark hickories, the tulip trees, sassafras, elms, locusts and sweet gums change to full, deep yellow.

Almanac literature

Great American Story Contest entry

Pickles & Plaster

By Fred Gullion

Vevay, Ind.

A few years ago I decided to make lime pickles. This requires several days’ work and I knew this was going to be a long, drawn-out process.

Since I had a large garden with loads of cucumbers, I decided to put about a bushel of small cucumbers in a 15-gallon pot that I used just for such occasions. I spent a couple hours picking just the right size cucumbers, because I didn’t want to spend time slicing larger ones.

We have a large patio built on the end of our garage, so I use this area with a turkey fryer to do large canning or to give large quantities of canned goods a water bath. It’s handy to use a water hose for cleaning the area after completion and, of course, we don’t have a mess in the kitchen. After cleaning, I place them in a solution of lime water for 24 hours.

Did I mention I also have a workshop in the garage where I have things stowed away in the right place at all times? Well, I have a place for everything, but not necessarily where it should be.

Anyway, I keep lime in a large cabinet along with canning supplies and a few other things not related to anything. I also have plaster of Paris in the same cabinet. I have made a practice of placing these two items in black plastic bags just in case the original bag should burst or spill.

After filling the pot with water, I went to the cabinet and obtained the large bag of lime. Not wanting to spill any on the cement, I used a scoop and took out the required amount before pouring it into the pot along with the water. Then I stirred until it was well mixed.

After placing the beautiful cucumbers in the pot, I put the lid on and set the pot aside for 24 hours. The next day, I prepared the pickling solution and prepared to rinse the cucumbers.

As I retrieved the large pot, I removed the lid and much to my surprise, I found a large block of plaster with cucumbers sticking out at different angles. I can tell you that the air was pretty hot around that pot – and it certainly wasn’t from the fryer.

In field and garden

Sept. 29: Insects become less common in the field and garden as the number of pollen-bearing flowers dwindles.

Sept. 30: Now is the time to check the weight of your beehives to ensure bees have enough honey to make it through the winter.

Oct. 1: Nutting season is under way: gather black walnuts, walnuts, pecans and hickory nuts as they fall. Halloween crops have come to town, and more than two-thirds of the corn is normally mature.

Oct. 2: October’s first cold front is typically a strong and consistent one, and it often brings freezing nights to the North. The two mornings following this front are the most likely to bring a damaging freeze so far in the season.

Oct. 3: When streaks of scarlet appear in the oaks and shades of pink in the dogwood trees, then cut gourds, winter squash and pumpkins for winter storage.

Oct. 4: The grape harvest is now under way. Test your soil after harvest and fertilize as needed; don’t wait until spring to feed the land.

Oct. 5: Soybeans are often mature on half of the region’s farms. About a fifth of that crop and about 10 percent of the corn have been cut. Winter wheat is usually one-fourth planted by today.