In nature we not only find sincerity but also innocence. And when, on all sides I am beset with palaver and artifice, I feel the need of drawing a long breath, I ramble the fields. – Charles Burchfield

The Moon and Stars

The Mating Milkweed Bug Moon waxes throughout the week, reaching perigee, its position closest to Earth, and then becoming full on June 24 at 1:40 p.m. Perigee and full moon so close together create “Supermoon” conditions, with increased tides and the likelihood of storms. Rising in the afternoon and setting after midnight, this moon is overhead in the evening, encouraging creatures to feed, especially as the cool fronts of June 23 and 29 approach.

Solstice occurred on June 22 at 4:44 p.m. The Sun entered Cancer at the same time. The Sun holds steady at its highest noontime height above the horizon (a declination of +23.26) for four days, June 19-23, after which it slowly begins to descend toward December’s winter solstice.

The main landmarks of a night in late June are Regulus in the western portion of the sky, Arcturus and the Corona Borealis overhead and Vega in the east. The Milky Way lies across the eastern horizon, along with Cygnus the Swan, otherwise known as the Northern Cross.

Weather Trends

Sunny skies are the rule for the last third of June. Daily chances for rain throughout this period are 30 percent, except on the 25th and 26th; those two days are often some of the driest of the entire year, carrying only a 20 percent chance for precipitation. High temperatures rise into the 80s at least 60 percent of all the afternoons, and climb above 90 on 20 percent of the days. Lunar perigee and the full moon of June 23-24 are most likely to cause cool conditions with hail and heavy rain. It is also very likely that this Supermoon could contribute to the formation of an early tropical disturbance in the Atlantic.

Zeitgebers

(Events in Nature that Tell the Time of Year)

Box turtles hatch. Quail mate. Hemlock, parsnips, angelica and Canadian thistles go to seed. Blackberries set fruit. Touch-me-nots bloom and ramps flower in the wetlands, enchanters nightshade in the woods, catnip, compass plant, thimble plant, wood mint, bee balm, tall nettle and heal-all in the fields.

Poison ivy has green berries. Rugosa roses are in full flower, accompanied by black-eyed Susans, wild petunias and hobblebush. Staghorns have pushed out on the sumacs.

Leafhoppers and Japanese beetles reach the economic threshold on the farm. Katydids are silent but exploring the undergrowth. The first woolly bear caterpillars, harbingers of winter, cross the road. Snapping turtles and mud turtles hatch.

May apples are ready to harvest in the woods. Blackberries have always set fruit, even in the coldest years. Black walnuts are about half their full size, Osage fruits are as big as golf balls. Ditch lilies reach full bloom. Asiatic, Oriental and standard daylilies gather momentum, pacing the monarda. The blossoms of mock orange are still fragrant in Minneapolis, long gone in Kentucky.

Mind and Body

The S.A.D. Index, which measures seasonal stress on a scale from 1 to 100, rises into the 30s from June 21 to 26, reflecting a combination of forces that include the likelihood of Dog Day heat and strong lunar influence from perigee and the full moon. The tidal effects of the moon decline quickly after the 27th, however, favoring Independence Day celebrations and vacations.

In the Field and Garden

This is the average time for corn borer sightings. Wheat has turned on three-fourths of the region’s fields. The first cut of alfalfa is usually three-fourths harvested. Plan to cut wheat and hay before the Corn Tassel Rains of early July.

Ten leaves have emerged on field corn. Black raspberry season ends now in the warmest years. The canola harvest begins near this time.

Potato leafhoppers are reaching the economic threshold in the alfalfa. The risk of storm lodging increases in the cornfields. Blight on the tomatoes threatens middle and late-summer harvests.

The early cornfields show their tassels. Commercial tomatoes are staked in southern Ohio and Indiana counties. The first soybeans are blooming. Most of the oats crop has headed up in an average year.

ALMANACK LITERATURE

The Dilemma

By Steve Mayhew, Noblesville, Ind.

It was long about 1955 when the dilemma happened. I was near 5 years old. Older brother and I was a playin’ in the kitchen with pots n pans n such. We took turns a wearing our new found “Crown,” which was an angel food cake pan.

Was my turn to wear the “Crown” n then it happened! Dern thing slipped down over my ears. Yep, jest like that ! Mom was usually pretty good at a figurin’ out situations, onliest this one she couldn’t.

So we went lookin for help. Oh my, what a sight it must have been, for Mom was eight months along, “big as a barn” with my new brother and sister, yep ..twins… n me a holdin onto her hand and stumbling along for I couldn’t see a lick and older brother a holdin her other hand!

Thank goodness them construction workers showed up for work that day. For they was my heroes: a pair of tin snips and I was rescued. I’ll bet them fellers was still a laughin’ about my predicament for years to come!

Couldn’t quite figure out why I hadda go stay with my aunt and uncle, and older brother got to stay at home with Pop while Mom was in the hospital.. Hmmm…

Poor Will Wants Your Stories

Poor Will pays $4 for unusual and true farm, garden, animal and even love stories used in this almanac. Send yours to Poor Will’s Almanack at the address below.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SCKRAMBLER

In order to estimate your SCRAMBLER IQ, award yourself 15 points for each word unscrambled, adding a 50-point bonus for getting all of them correct. If you find a typo, add another 15 points to your IQ.

WORBN BROWN

WOLCN CLOWN

NOWRC CROWN

NOWD DOWN

RNWOD DROWN

ORFNW FROWN

NWOG GOWN

UONN NOUN

NWDOA ADOWN

NWNWTDOO DOWNTOWN

NWOGHTGIN NIGHTGOWN

THIS WEEK’S RHYMING SCKRAMBLER

CUKTR

NOWRDETSURKC

KUCAM

LUTOPCK

UOEBRKC

CUKHCODOW

HRRRSTRCKOOU

STURKCREDNUHT

LUCKP

KUCCL

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Copyright 2021 – W. L. Felker