The Old Farmers Almanac 2016: Canadian Edition [Canadian Edition] 1571986863, 9781571986863

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39083510512917 Old farmer's almanac By

PF IING

Ne

Str

FARMER’S THOMAS B. ROBERT ORIGINAL HE IN FOUNDED ALMANAC, 1792

ME ASTRO FEATU ALSO HOLIDA TIDES, TABLES ETC. ECLIPS

SUN, MOON, STARS, AND PLANETS —

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9 NF 8757

1986863

Exclusively for Ware Almanac Reader

Your Next Park Seed

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use code GR

expires 06/30

_ 1800-8455

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NUMBER

TWO

NY HUNDRED

39083510512917 AND

TWENTY-FOUR

The Old Farmer’s Almanac CALCULATED

ON

A NEW

AND

IMPROVED

PLAN

Z016

FOR

THE

YEAR

OF OUR

LORD

Bemnc Leap YEAR AND (UNTIL JULY 1) 148TH YEAR OF CANADIAN CONFEDERATION

Fitted for Ottawa, with special corrections and calculations to answer for all the Canadian provinces. Containing, besides the large number ofAstronomical Calculations and the Farmer’s Calendar for every month in the year, a variety of

New, USEFUL, €@ ENTERTAINING MATTER. Established in 1792 by Robert B. Thomas (1766-1846)

Life is worth living, as long as there’s a laugh in it. —Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)

Cover T.M. registered n U.S. Patent Office

| Copyright © 2015 by Yankee Publishing Incorporated ISSN 0078-4516

Library of Congress Card No. 56-29681

Original wood engraving by Randy Miller

THE OLD FARMER’s ALMANAG ¢ DuBLIN, NH 03444 « 603-563-8111 6

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

* ALMANAC.COM

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rom allefelalePerelatelU[-Melachi) Paela Talictalorel alate imcelale{Ul-Micelnamialollolam Ml aty-1a t-te [alrome Me]gefey/-) in the stock. _ Saddle grafts are used to

icolgna Mom elaielel-Mey/-1 aeialfofelanlele[-teMele-lo Mo) Ms lt(ole

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Gardening

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A BIT ABOUT BUD GRAFTING

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Budding is a special form of grafting in which the scion is simply a single mature leaf bud. Budding is often used in nurseries for fruit tree propagation. Apples and lilacs both respond well to budding. The advantage to budding is that it can be done in the summer because the buds are cut from shoots of the current season’s growth. The scion bud is inserted under a bark flap cut on the stock.

SCION

SOURCES

There are many ways to get clippings to use as scions. Check with friends or relatives who are gardeners. Perhaps you can trade a cutting from one of your plants for a cutting from one of theirs. Establish connections with your local nursery or garden center manager, who may allow you to take cuttings. Check with local orchards or farms to see about collecting cuttings when they prune. In some

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sponsor scion exchange events. You will rarely achieve 100 percent success with grafting. Some grafts will fail even when you have done everything right, but do not despair. If your first attempts do not produce the results that you want, keep trying. With practice and persistence, you can soon become a proficient grafter and enjoy the fruit of your labor. m Ron Engeldinger has been gardening in Oregon for about 35 years, growing mainly apples, pears, berries, and vegetables.

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THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC

53

Nature (Se

i

I

ee

a

MARVELOUS JOURNEYS MADE BY SEEDS Some fly on the wind, some

|I

hitch a ride, some float,

ano a few become enflameo.

I

|

BY CYNTHIA [ILLUSTRATIONS

|

a

VAN

HAZINGA

BY KIM

KURKI

Many plants, even those that we consider invasive, must set seed to survive as a species. How

|

plants disperse their seeds is one of nature’s most fascinating adventure stories. Come along for the ride and discover a few of the means and methods.

|

THE DRIFTERS ind, with the help of gravity, is the w= common means of seed dispersal, especially for small, light seeds. Witchweed (Striga asiatica) produces one

y W

| |

of the smallest seeds in nature, and it is easily

transported by wind (or water). Orchid seeds, so minute that they resemble dust, and the graceful,

/

|

plumed achenes of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) also float in the air. If conditions are right, dandy achenes may fly as far as 500 miles. Some plumed seeds, like those of milkweed

(Asclepias syriaca)—which bears its

brood in banana-shape pods that split to release their tufts—fly farther than winged ones (think of ee

Ung

54

es

re

eS

FLOATERS

HITCHHIKERS

EXPLODERS

Bi

+2 te Jewelweed i

Si rea 5S)

Nature

maple trees). Tumbleweed can produce up to 250,000 seeds. These are dispersed as weed tumbles, driven by the wind. Many plants that produce large seeds hold them in aerodynamically designed pods or vessels. Seeds with only one ter-

The speed at which any of these travels depends on the height of its parent and the wind velocity, among other things.

minal wing, such as those of lime and

ater dispersal is most effective at dispersing seeds when

ash trees, fall like spinning torpedoes. Seeds with two wings glide: Maple tree seeds, or samaras,

spin like helicopter

blades; basswood

seeds are carried in

bracts with “parachutes”; tree-of-heaven

pods have “propeller” wings; and sweet gum stores its winged seeds in a ball. (Get it? “Gum

ball.) True yams

(Di-

oscorea) are climbers with thin, papery seeds with wings.

Teas) :

THE FLOATERS

a body of water, whether a rivulet or an ocean, is moving and the seed is buoyant. Coconuts (remember, these are fruit with seeds), mangroves,

and seeds of other tropical trees commonly float on sea tides. Sea beans (Entada gigas) have been known to travel on

water

from

Africa,

Australia,

or

South America to land in Europe! Freshwater travelers include yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus), water mint (the

calyx also clings to animal fur), tiny foxglove, willow (in capsules), cottonwood, and sycamore, which all produce

fluffy and buoyant seeds. These can travel great distances before they wash ashore and germinate—or not. For example, water lily seeds sink immediately and settle on the bottom, where they

Did You Know? The invasive tree of heaven

(Adlanthus altissima) was introduced in North America as an ornamental in ;

Pennsylvania in 1784. Turbulent | |a 56

winds have been known to carry its seeds over 1,475 feet. ee

ee

|

sprout. Sedge and rush seeds also sink, but float to the surface when they become small plants. Some floating fruit, especially legumes, have seeded pods made super-buoyant with trapped air; eventually, the pods decay to release the seeds or are rubbed open as they tumble along in a brook or river. Many of the light, corky, seedlike fruit of the carrot family float easily on streams, some for several months. Seeds of some of the gourd family, which owe their buoyancy to their light, corky structure, have a similar habit.

(continued)

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Nature

pounds or more, is too heavy to float,

but it has | cen transported by men and replanted. (Its archaic name, Lodoicea

callypige, comes from the Greek words meaning “beautiful rump” because ancient sailors who came upon it on the beach believed it to be a woman’s disembodied buttocks.) THE HITCHHIKERS erely by going about their business, birds and animals

serve as agents of seed distri-

Dio You Know? Invasive aquatic bull horn

(Trapa natans) is a rare species in the water chestnut family. Its 2%-inch-diameter seeds resembling a bull’s head are transported by animals,

including Canada geese; fishing nets; wooden boats;

||

and other vehicles.

A A A

The seeds of the sea rocket (Cakile maritima), a member of the mustard

family, reside in twin pods resembling a two-stage missile. One pod remains attached to the parent and produces a new plant in place. The other breaks off and gets carried away on a wave. Unlike most palms, the coco de mer

palm (Lodoicea maldivica), the largest seed-bearing plant in the world, seems doomed to stay in its home, the

Seychelles Islands: Its seed, at up to 40

bution; seeds, by design or attraction, be-

come hitchhikers. For example, burdock (Arctium sp.) seeds have hooked bracts,

and cleavers (Galium aparine;

a mem-

ber of the Madder family), aka “Velcro plant,” have hooked hairs, or bristles,

that cling to animal skins. The seeds of both Pittosporum, named from the Greek for “‘pitch-seed” because of their

characteristic

stickiness,

port, hoard, eat, and excrete seeds. Birds

swallow seeds while feeding on fleshy fruit and berries, which are often alluringly bright red, black, blue, or purple. Pro-

tective coatings prevent such seeds from disintegration during digestion. Cherry pits, for example, pass through a bird’s system undigested. In the northern forests of South America’s Patagonia, the mousy

I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. —Henry David Thoreau, American writer (1817-62) 58

and

mistletoe are tacky enough when mature to fix onto a bird’s wing or beak. More frequently, hungry birds and other animals—especially bats and rodents, but also reptiles and other mammals—trans-

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/ 59

Nature

te

|

y

||

e* \}

%

1

2.

|

|

THE EXPLODERS S ome seedpods and ripe flowers have the energy and structure to’

e =

Nag

|

—

iT

é

i

|

|i|

Dito You Know?

,

even

shoot-

legumes, laburnum, or gorse; others in-

y

clude knotgrass, lady’s slippers, violets, and vetches. The seed cases of jewelweed (aka touch-me-not, /mpatiens spp.) and Chinese wisteria dry so thoroughly that the slightest pressure, even a light

|

;

bedstraw or goosegrass,

, can be used as a coffee substitute I (the coffee plant also is a member y of the Madder family). i i

themselves,

i

Roasted seeds of cleavers, aka

|

scatter

ing seeds a good distance. Many are

i

|

|

“little frog” because it prefers moist habitats—have seeds that stick to the plumage and feet of waterbirds.

a eine |

=S¢ |.

|

sai

=

SR

ORL

marsupial monito del monte (Spanish for “monkey of the mountain’) ingests the seeds of the mistletoe species Tristerix corymbosus and later eliminates them onto the bark of host trees. Plants do not typically produce foodsource seeds in great quantities because these seeds tend to be relatively large, heavy, and thus energetically expensive to produce. Seed dispersal is not the domain of terrestrial creatures alone. Aquatic

wind, causes them to burst and broadcast their seeds through the air—the former, a couple of meters; the latter, according to one source, as far as 80 feet. The

cranesbill geranium’s seed capsule has a beaklike column, hence the name. When

ripe, oxalis’s small, cylindrical capsule suddenly explodes, sowing its seeds up to 13 feet away. With specially shaped flowers, splashcup plants such as Chrysosplenium and Mazus actually flip their seeds—sometimes more than 3 feet—in response to the force of raindrops falling on their petals. “Bird’s nest” fungi (which reproduce with spores, not seeds) also use this method, as do some kalanchoes, which can shoot

their seeds as faras5 feet.

(continued)

plants—for example, invasive bur-reed

Dito You Know?

(Sparganium), the common name of which refers to its spiky flower head,

Researchers believe that an

and

water

crow-foot

(Ranunculus

aquatilis), an aquatic buttercup whose family name derives from the Latin for 60

edible protein coating on

some seeds serves asareward for ants that cache them.

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61

Historic Aerial Photos

Nature

Witch hazel’s two-chambered capsules announce the expulsion of their two shiny black seeds with an audible “snap” (hence its other common

name:

the snapping hazelnut) before projecting them 20 to 30 feet. Black walnuts’ spongy hulls bounce and roll when they hit the ground, while horse chestnuts’ hulls split when they crash on terra firma, allowing the seeds to roll away. Dry poppy seed heads have little holes around the top that allow the small seeds to be thrown out (think of a salt shaker)

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when the wind blows. The largest plant with an explosive dispersal method is probably the tropical evergreen sandbox tree (Hura crepitans). It’s orange-size fruit burst with a popping sound (hence the nickname “monkey’s dinner bell”) and throw

their seeds

at

speeds of up to 230 feet per second. The smallest plant in this category may oe

(ENGAGEMENT. |

*3f

‘Phe Old Farme

CALENDAR

2016

ee

The Old Farmer's

Almanac

V

Seeeseeccepeeececesccseosseeeoseoeeseoeeense

Call Today: 1-800-256-2622 (@)col-im@) alias www.Almanac.com/Shop

Dito You Know? You can eat the tasty seeds

| popped from a jewelweed seedpod! a

€

Nature

—————--——, Dio You Know? Some scientists split the mechanics of seed dispersal into

i

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be the ground-hugging squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium). When the pressure

from water absorption peaks, it pushes its seeds through its stopper-like stem with a thrust that can carry them as far as 20 feet. THE FIRE NEEDERS ire, although often destructive, is also an agent of dispersal for some seeds. The ashen remains of a fire may create ideal conditions for growth to recur. Fire-dispersed seeds do not move, and they must be able to stay dormant for long periods of time. Lodgepole pine trees, which stand 70 feet tall, on average, need a blaze to melt

the resin that coats the tree’s cones and release the winged seeds to fall to the forest floor. Thousands of them: Years after a fire, as many as 50,000 lodgepole seedlings may have sprouted on | acre. Much smaller 4- to 6-foot-tall fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) 1s so called for its propensity to sprout in areas cleared by wildfires. One plant can produce up to 80,000 seeds. Cynthia Van Hazinga drifts, floats, hitchhikes, and explodes between New York City and New Hampshire.

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FINALLY GET THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE eh

“You don’t know beans!” So goes an old idiom for ignorance. And when it comes to beans, you probably don’t eat them very often, either. Surveys indicate that Americans eat only half a cup of cooked

beans per week, on average. But this could change. The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2016 as the International

Year of Pulses in an effort to increase both knowledge about and consumption of beans and their botanical relatives, known collectively as the pulse crops. (continued) Photo: Media Bakery

Clinical research has shown that pulse foods may

®

Food

You probably already know the pulses, crops in the bean and pea family (the legumes) grown for their mature, dry seeds. In North America, the term gener-

and processors when he adds, “They’re fantastic crops to work with—ancient crops that are going to play a big role in the future of the global food supply.”

ally applies to dry beans and peas, lentils, and chickpeas.

The name

derives

from an ancient Greek word for thick soup or porridge. “Tm

bullish

on

chickpeas,”

says

George Vandemark, a USDA geneticist engaged in conventional breeding efforts to improve the mineral and fattyacid profiles of chickpeas. He could be speaking for pulse breeders, farmers,

Soil Loves Pulses Pulse crops use about half the nonrenewable energy inputs of other agricultural crops and a fraction of the water. “Their sustainability has largely to do with their ability to ‘fix’ nitrogen gas from the air into plant-specific forms,’ says Hans Kandel, an agronomist with North Dakota

State University Cooperative Extension.

Pulses include (left to right) brown lentils, chickpeas, French green lentils, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, red lentils, and pinto beans. Me a i is

a, we ¥, 3

TOP PULSE PRODUCERS @ North Dakota leads in U.S. pulse production; other state sources are Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and Washington. @ Canada dominates global lentil and dry pea production, with most of it centered in Saskatchewan and Alberta. @ India leads in chickpeas. ® Brazil grows the most dry beans.

66

“Nitrogen is the common limiting factor in most cultivated crops, and nitrogen fertilizers are a high-energy input.” “You have to have the right species of bacteria in the soil for the crop to fix nitrogen,” he adds, noting that most North American farmers who include pulses in their crop rotations “inoculate” the seeds with the appropriate bacterial strain before planting to ensure optimum nitrogen fixation. Besides tolerating drought well, pulses Photo: FoodCollection/SuperStock

9

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People Should Love Pulses “Pulse foods are low in fat and sodium,

low-glycemic, and gluten-free,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, a nutrition specialist with North Dakota State University Extension. “All pulses provide an excellent source of protein, fiber, potassium, and folate, as well as many essential minerals. “Clinical research has shown that pulse foods help to manage blood glucose levels and lower both total and LDL [“bad’]

cholesterol, and may help to prevent heart disease, obesity, asthma, some types of cancer, and other chronic diseases.” Gram for gram, pulses are the least expensive proteins. “Although pulse foods lack certain essential amino acids that humans need to make “complete proteins,’ eating a wide diversity of foods each day that include whole grains, nuts, and veg-

etables, as well as pulses, will supply adequate protein,” she adds. Cooked pulses are the only food group to qualify by USDA standards as either a protein or a vegetable (e.g., with chicken, lentils “count” as a veggie; with a vegetarian meal, they count as a protein). benefit growers in other ways, too, such

Gardeners Can Love Pulses

aS) OV

Green beans and fresh peas are popular home garden crops. Growing dry. beans or peas is another story. Gardeners face

® improving the soil, e.g., through releasing compounds that “feed” beneficial soil microorganisms or that make nutrients more available to other crops @ increasing soil biodiversity @ breaking the cycles of plant disease, weeds, and insect pests

@™ increasing the yields of nonlegume crops planted the following season 68

a long season, weeds, animal and insect

pests, and plant diseases. If all goes well, a 25-foot row of dry beans or peas will yield only 2 to 3 pounds of seeds. However, if you have time and space, dry beans can be satisfying to grow; plus, you can try varieties not available in stores.

(continued)

Photo: Elena Elisseeva/SuperStock

ADVERTISEMENT

mp CAPE CODe seTht sali

Po,

The box at the top of each Left-Hand Calendar Page describes the best times to view celestial highlights, including conjunctions, meteor showers, and planets. The dates on which select astronomical events occur appear on the Right-Hand Calendar Pages.

12

3 neti of Day

We

Declination of Sun

*6

To calculate the sunrise time for your locale: Note the Sun Rise Key Letter on the chosen day. In the Time Corrections table on page 250, find your city or the city nearest you. Add or subtract the minutes that correspond to the Sun Rise Key Letter to/from the sunrise time given for Ottawa. EXAMPLE:

® Tocalculate the time of sunrise in Vancouver,

British Columbia, on the first day of the month: Sunrise, Ottawa,

with Key Letter E (above)

7:42 a.m. EST

5

ee

High Times frei

& h. m.

BR:

:ss = Place

733.00 ag12;

minus) of the Sun Rise Key Letter minutes. Add or subtract it to/from the first result. EXAMPLE:

H To calculate the length of day in Brandon, Manitoba, on the first day of the month: Length of day, Ottawa (above) Sunset Key Letter A for Brandon (p. 250)

+

Reverse sunrise Key Letter E for Brandon (p. 250, +54 to-54)

-

Length of day, Brandon

8h. 48m. : 16m.

9h. 04m. 54m. 8h. 10m.

Use the Sun Fast column to change sun-

Value of Key Letter E for Vancouver (p. 250)

+ 24 minutes

Sunrise, Vancouver

8:06 a.m. PST

Use the same procedure with Ottawa’s sunset time and the Sun Set Key Letter value to calculate the time of sunset in your locale. To calculate the length of day for your locale: Note the Sun Rise and Sun Set Key Letters on the chosen day. In the Time Corrections table on page 250, find your city. Add or subtract the minutes that correspond to the Sun Set Key Letter to/from Ottawa’s length of day. Reverse the sign (minus to plus, or plus to

120

4

dial time to clock time. A sundial reads natural, or Sun, time, which is neither Standard

nor Daylight time. To calculate clock time on a sundial in Ottawa, subtract the minutes given in this column; add the minutes when preceded by an asterisk [*]. To convert the time to your city, use Key Letter C in the table on page 250. ATTENTION, READERS: All rise and set times are for Ottawa, Ontario, and are in Eastern Standard Time (EST) or Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The high tide times on the following pages are based on Halifax, and are in Atlantic Standard Time (AST)

or Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT).

Get local rise, set, and tide times at Almanac.com/Astronomy.

2016

How

Longitude of city

EXAMPL E :

Tochange sundial time to clock time in Ottawa, or, for example, in Thunder Bay, Ontario: Sundial reading (Ottawa or Thunder Bay) Add Sun Fast (p. 120)

12:00 noon + 6 minutes

Clock time, Ottawa

12:06 p.m. EST

Use Key Letter C for Thunder Bay (p. 251)

+

Ciock time, Thunder Bay

12:59 p.m. EST

53 minutes

This column gives the degrees and minutes of the Sun from the celestial equator at noon EST or EDT. This column gives the approximate times of high tides in Halifax. For example, the first high tide occurs at 12:45 A.M. and the second occurs at 12:45 p.m. the same day..(A dash indicates that high tide occurs on or after midnight and is recorded on the next day.) Because of the great variations in tide times and heights on both the east and west coasts, no one locality can be used as a mean. Twice-weekly times and heights of high tides at Churchill, Manitoba, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are provided on page 248. To calculate the moonrise time for your locale: Note the Moon Rise Key Letter on the chosen day. Find your city on page 250. Add or subtract the minutes that correspond to the Moon Rise Key Letter to/from the moonrise time given for Ottawa. (A dash indicates that the moonrise occurs on or after midnight and is recorded on the next day.) Find the longitude of your city on page 250. Add a correction in minutes for your city’s longitude (see table, above right).

to

Use

Correction minutes

BBE TG eee on ubbveldt beetatnlcl stants te 0 TAO CMsinegreattosranase ieataseice ss +1 MT1 ype eed ing ee a ee +2 TOS 2a 115 ea a the ole'ainieleaeete “28 | TAGoe TOT oe etatetele slere aotaiecaneck +4 Fh oe ras aan tsGio altelheute wreee +5 TA 95 ie tiaverd. als dcasd o oitie’s Bie +6

Use the same procedure with Ottawa’s moonset time and the Moon Set Key Letter value to calculate the time of moonset in your locale. EXAMPLE:

H To calculate the time of moonset in To-

ronto, Ontario, on the first day of the month: Moonset, Ottawa, with Key Letter C (p.120)

11:34 a.m. EST

Value of Key Letter C for Toronto (p. 251) Correction for Toronto longitude, 79° 23’

+ 15 minutes

Moonset, Toronto

11:50 a.m. EST

+

1 minute

The Moon’s Place is its astronomical position among the constellations (not the zodiac) at midnight. For astrological data, see pages 242-244, Constellations have irregular borders; on

successive nights, the midnight Moon may ‘enter one, cross into another, then move to a

new area of the previous. It visits the 12 zodiacal constellations, as well as Auriga (AUR), a

northern constellation between Perseus and Gemini; Cetus (CET), which lies south of the zodiac, just south of Pisces and Aries; Ophiuchus (OPH), a constellation primarily north of

the zodiac but with a small corner between Scorpius and Sagittarius; Orion (ORI), a con-

stellation whose northern limit first reaches the zodiac between Taurus and Gemini; and Sextans (SEX), which lies south of the zodiac

i] E o

except for a corner that just touches it near Leo.

Ee

oF = ‘Ss =] © a8

2016

The last column gives the Moon’s Age, which is the number of days since the previous new Moon. (The average length of the lunar month is 29.53 days.) (continued) THE OLD FARMER’s ALMANAC Canadian Edition

121

How to Use

;

;

©

‘The Right-Hand Calendar Pages : 12! A

Cc A L 3 N D r\ R

SAMPLE

@ Weather prediction rhyme.

MONTH

x

:

a

ees

Soe

TORR,

Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide pole

@ Religious feasts generally ap-

:

Weather

—

pear in this font. A ' indicates

Rogation S.«drihodox baster « pay°{53

a major feast that the church ie Ve teats aah trans-

St Athanasius « (ar @3e SUC Tides {2 blossoms 3 © Banish Sts. Philip&James! # @ &% Hee le

erred

to a

usual one.

date other

than

its

ddE

eS a?

HB Symbols Symbols forfor n otable celestial i events. (See opposite page for explanations.)

— Tr.

ESOC

1961

12

:

o tices (22

Blessed

: sadness;

eae =.

all

a 9o Se a: ser ve u s SoCs Mi l4-pound pearl reportedly collected, - s{° 1 ae ,

yA} a Palawan Island,Philippines, {934 ® 68 Mother's|Piani Rudolt

@ The bold letter is the Dominical

~~

& a

ness!

:

ae

Letter (from A to G), a traditional ecclesiastical designation

for Sunday determined by the date on which the first Sunday falls. For 2016, a leap year, the

Dominical Letter is © through February. It then reverts to B for the rest of the year. @ Proverbs, poems, and adages

generally appear in this font. @ Sundays and special holy days generally appear in this font. ®@ Noteworthy historical events,

folklore, and legends appear in this font. @ Civil holidays and astronomical events appear in this font. @ High tide heights, in feet, at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Predicting Earthquakes

@ Note the dates in the Right-Hand Calendar Pages when the Moon rides high or runs low. The date of the high begins the most likely 5-day period of earthquakes in the Northern Hemisphere; the date of the low indicates a

similar 5-day period in the Southern Hemisphere. Also noted are the 2 days each month when the Moon is on the celestial equator, 122

aS indicating the most likely time for earthquakes in either hemisphere.

Find more heavenly details at Almanac.com.

2016

How

@ Throughout the Right-Hand Calendar Pages are groups of symbols. that represent notable celestial events. The symbols and names of the principal planets and aspects are: ©

Sun

~O@C Moon

VU Neptune

P Pluto

%

Mercury

2 ®

Venus Earth

4 Conjunction (on the

Co

Mars

82 Ascending node

4

Jupiter

@% Descending node

h

Saturn

—-& Opposition (180

6

Uranus

same celestial longitude)

to

Use

EXAMPLE:

S9C on the 5th day of the month (see opposite page) means that on that date a conjunction (d) of Venus (2) and the Moon (@)

occurs: They are aligned along the same celestial longitude and appear to be closest together in the sky.

Ar EARTH AT PERIHELION AND APHELION @ Perihelion: January 2, 2016. Earth

will be 91,403,891 miles from the Sun. Aphelion: July 4, 2016.

Earth will be

94,512,986 miles from the Sun.

_ degrees from Sun) 2016 Calendar Highlights

MOVABLE RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

Septuagesima Sunday.......... January 24 Shrove Twesday «scion ee er February 9 Ashi Wednesdays 2254...s3% February 10 Palm SunGayigoe secs ites. cae «> March 20 Good Briday par ca! en lactate March 25 ASL R pa ee coils 18 slays tia hook March 27 Passover begins at sundown....... April 22 OrthodoxBasiers certs Ne ose. ke: May 1 Rogation Sunday.......... Lace. May1

4

Ascension Dayoocee: os.0 tyee Gk. May5

Era

Whitsunday—Pentecost er

Byzantine

a

Re A May 15

Trinity Sunday Wa) ouualie sale lw i's Tee “5

1 May 22

onpnS! CHISt es Aes a= jalan aso 08 May 29 Ramadan begins at sundown ....... June 5 Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. . October 2

Year — 7525

Jewish (A.M.)*

Chi

5777

_ Begins September 14 ~

October 2

L

ce ae nie Peet gt ie Morey

Ee puns

Yom Kippur begins at sundown.. October11

Roman (A.U.C.)

2769

January 14

First Sunday of Advent ...... November 27 Chanukah begins at sundown. . December 24

—Nabonassar Japanese

2765 2676

April 20 January 1

Grecian (Seleucidae)

2328

September 14

CHRONOLOGICAL CYCLES

Domunmical Letter, (P0080

ok

C/B

(or October 14)

pace eee eerste PaO as Ny 21 ~~‘Indian (Saka) eee Beate nse Wycle)Puibtciaicyehts 3 Diocletian OMAN: IDGIOR GME an yer. se pcs soe se ou, 2 9 i ; SOlarCVclernere Meer ee en ak 9 owes eet) :

Year of Julian Period...../........ 6729) 2016

Tear begins at sundown.

1938 1733 a

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

March 22 September 11 Dotebers

123

NOVEMBER Une

ELeventa Mo

SKY WATCH >< Venus stands very near Mars from the Ist to the 3rd, just hefore dawn in the east, with Jupiter closely above them. The crescent Moon passes to the right of Jupiter on the 6th and to the right of Venus on the 7th, with nearby Mars just above them both. This planet group forms a nice little triangle, although the Martian “point,” at magnitude 1.7, is so dim that it might easily be overlooked; Venus is 200 times brighter! Look at the crescent Moon to see earthshine—a faint glow on its dark portion caused by reflection of sunlight from Earth. Saturn passes behind the Sun in a conjunction on the 29th, ending its evening star role. q) Last Quarter DAruwzmrseo @ New Moon

:

3rd day

7th hour

11th day

12thhour

©

First Quarter

19th day

1st hour

O

Full Moon

25th day

17thhour

24th minute

—

47th minute 27th minute

.

44th minute

After 2:00 4.m. on November 1, Eastern or Atlantic Standard Tim 2 1S give High Tide Times Halifax Ss «(ADT/AST) | h. m.

et Place

©|

NIP ole NIK SP Be SiR NIP

PE ARWBNH DOM OMWON NIK SIP

NOVEMBER

The winds are out with loud increasing shout, Where late before them walked the biting frost. -tones Very

Farmer’s Calendar @ Until she died at the age of

=x

DayWi DayMon of of

Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights

All Saints’ e _ |All Souls’

| Weather|

Daylight Saving {5.9 Time ends, 2:00 a.m. e Tides 5.6 Thunder in November, 5 5.6 a fertile year to come. e Tides {— Actress Mary 5.4 ® Martin died, 1990° 15.3

Clear, brittle:

[Begin Do SQ «

Rains

Computational wizard Shakuntala Devi born, 1929 e f

2 1

a

seTides {25

Tittle,

Cartoonist Al Capp . 2" snow, Salisbury, Mo., 199: foliCc ¢ Jalking headlight installed on locomotive, Schenectady, N.Y., 1934°

+| died, 1979

°{3]

-| Cea.e Car8S Caro. RToh(CTofoi Black bears head to o{ 5.6 24th S. af.Pp. winter dens now. 5.4 Peak of multiday storm that caused 12 major eee OMmANIAAMNHPWN shipwrecks on Great Lakes, U.S./Ont., 1913 ° 5:5 5.9 ,| Luna 17 spacecraft launched, 1970 @ Tides { 5.6

St. Martin of Tours « HememPrance s New Qo Indian +) Summer

but warmish. Stormish! Snow north,

SOC

rain

sf reformer Elizabeth . {6.0

south.

dhGe Cady Stanton born, 1815 ® {$9

6.1 Lobsters move to offshore waters now. e Tides {57

Wetter

RUNS Low @ Artist Claude Monet born, 1840 e Tides {6.1 57

25th D. af. P.°

and

DPC+ cere i960 "milder,

T Helen Mersi Kelesi born, 1969 Walt Disney announced plans to build er Tides ip + |Epcot Center, 1965

:

now

“(8

.| St. Hugh of Lincoln ¢ fe)insur.

Se e|

>3$

Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights

&=|&=

Farmer’s Calendar | Weather|

1 | Fr. |New Year’s Day e Holy Name e CcON EQ. @ Tides {3 AT

2 |Sa.|C 3

Cc

sto. © D at reansi08 @ fait conditioner, 1906

8" ice accretion after 3 days,

2nd §.al.Ch. e refon

e northern Idaho, 1961

A

4 |M.|

Snow

Willis H. Carrier granted patent ¥

Poet T. S. Eliot _ +.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton e died, 1965

53

e Tides me

mercury

5 |Tu.| tweittn night e SPO oF sar. o Tides {35 i

6 |W.| Epiphany»

;

SOC

‘

8 |Fr.|Ciowe

diving:

5.5

SHE e Tides {27

Snow

Distaff —Emperor Hirohito

7 |Th. Orthodox Christmas ¢ poy"

: steadier

© of Japan died, 1989

SPI * Ufstar.fineoge {$3 now— NBA’s Toronto Raptors first to miss

1996 9 |Sa.| . New @ °dBCe all free throw aaiepts in in game, ge

10|

Spindletop

11] M.| Monday ® Yankton,§Dak.1990 ° Tes {67 Swimmer Melvin Stewart set world _ -.

record in 200-meter butterfly, 1991 ® Tides {2

13

fj St.Hilary° SUG

15]

ae

arriving?

Hippopotamus Blackie 6.4 died ehapponx. age 59, 2014 ® 125

T U.S3 | Benedict Car Se € PERG. © fo)NINE. Ge sane bom 741See ON . Philip Livingston, signer of Declaration, {5.9 EQ. ® of Independence, born, 1716 f {— Last day of “Great Snowstorm”. {6.1

Fr.

16] Sa. fol

from Ga. to Maine, 1831 stat

Benjami

° Wintry

. mix leaves

2 43

17| © |2n &, af. €p.e Fantintom 100 * {33 USS.

the

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12|Tu.

14|Th.

,

when's

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© |1st S. af. €p.« S8CGe Benidont ae 1901

W.

bursts at first,

roadways

5.9

slick, :

18 |M. |Martin (observed, U.S.) US.)@«{{2° Mild artin Luther Luther KingJr.’s r.’s Birthday Bi jay (observed, = ilder 19

If the grass grows in Janiveer, 5 Tu. It grows the worse for 't all the year. is First Canadian Chief Engineer of

20} W.

5.8 5.1

for a

5

55

Public Works, Samuel Keefer, born, 1811 ® /ides {53

spell,

21) Th.) Citci’e SOR ©fom toate Tides {F9 — then 22.| Fr. |St. Vincent © Uranium atom first split by cyclotron, 1939

23

cold

Full January thaw traditionally . -. 6.2 Sa. Wolf O ® begins about now. @ Tides ee

A 24) C |Septuagesimae

as...

44°F to-56°F in 24

prowning Mont. 1916 hours,

Hello!

25 |M. |Conversion of Paul © J scar. © Tides {$3 ‘

-

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9

26 |Tu. |Sts. Timothy &Titus © Sculptress Elisabet Ney born, 1833 ¢

27) W.| Car

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know? 5.9

8 © SUC © james Audubon died, 1851 ® {33

28 |Th. |S. Thomas Aquinas » (2 » Space sbutle

,

It’s

Chalenser’ 10) heloy/

ON . Space shuttle Challenger

Baseball Hall 29 |Fr. |clected first members, 1936 ® Raccoons matenow.e {5u AT

30] Sa.

31) 2016

APO. ® JOP ® Highway near B.C./Alta. border, 2006

C |Sexagesima e ©

Slop,

Avalanche closed Trans-Canada The further we go,

the

further behind.

5.4 Tides {2-4

& lop ,

stop!

@ We had a big snowstorm recently—a real lollapalooza, - DAr about 28 inches. Strong winds accompanied it, so when I went out to shovel afterward, some

of the drifts were more than 3 feet deep. However,

the same

wind,

forced through a narrow opening between the house and the woodpile, had scoured out valleys and arroyos where the ground was almost bare. It occurred to me that while a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, in these circumstances, it might

not be the best route. So I tried contour shoveling, clearing a way to the composter, the propane tank, and the woodpile by taking the path of least resistance; shoveling 20 linear

feet of 2-inch-deep snow is easier than lifting 10 linear feet of snow that’s 40 inches deep. Yes, it took longer, but in the end, my back was less: sore than it would have been after bulldozing straight through the drifts. It also helped me to see the snowscape better: its voluptuous curves, how it glittered in

direct sunlight, its ultramarine gloom in the shadows. The result was a meandering trail that looped around the highest ridges and mesas, then doubled back toward the target, shoveling in cursive, not block

letters. It was what a mathematician might call an elegant solution.

Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

129

. FEBRUARY Ta ‘SECOND. Mon’ H SKY WATCH » Nota single naked-eye planet appears in the evening sky in the beginning of the month. Night’s opening hours are dominated by Orion and the Dog Star, Sirius. On the 6th at dawn, 40 minutes before sunrise, the waning crescent Moon meets Mercury and Venus low in the southeast in Sagittarius. By midmonth, brilliant, creamy Jupiter, retrograding into Leo, starts rising at 7:30 p.m. and is nicely up by 10:00, ruling the rest of the night as the brightest“star” in the sky. February opens the 3-month window for optimally observing Jupiter and its moons through backyard telescopes. The Moon passes very closely below Jupiter on the 23rd. Mars, brightening noticeably in Libra, rises by 1:00 a.m. and is halfway up the southern sky at dawn. On Leap Day (the 29th), it dangles below the Moon. Aro2zmrero @ New Moon

©

First Quarter

©

Full Moon

8th day 15th day

9th hour 2nd hour

39th minute 47th minute

22nd day

13th hour

20th minute

All times are given in Eastern Standard Time. . Get these pages with times set to your postal code at Almanac.com/Access. Sun | Declination

High Tide Times

C

B B B B

13 23 4 5

D EB

25 26

B B B

6 63 73

E D D

27 28 29

B

83

dD

0

B

103

cc

3

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11;

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4

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12

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5

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93

16

B B

B

453

8.

9 10

B

130

To use this page, see p. 120; for Key Letters, see p. 250.

Bold = p.m. © Light =a.

2016

No summer sunset afterglow €an match the soft rose of the snow. -Anna Boynton Averill Ssé\sx=

RS zs

Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights

sat First U.S. dental dispensary 1 |M. |St Brigide SOC © opened, NY.C., 1791 2

|Tu.

3 |W.|

Candlemas

Groundhog

Groundhog On Candlemas Day, pa Day The good goose begins to lay. cowers Fire destroyed Parliament 52

SRG» puitdings, Ottawa, Ont., 1916 * Tides {37 RUNS . United Service Organizations . ,.

4

Low ® (USO) incorporated, 1941

powers

3.3

® Tides 13

of

Religious leader Roger Williams

5

;

St.Agatha 0 SEP ® arrived in America [Boston], 1631 GR. ELONG. : :

6

Gao

7 8

i : Manufacturer John 6.1 Quinquagesima eee sore {83 Showers. Chinese New Year (Monkey) « New @ Tides {®1 Flakes

9

Shrove Tuesday © SWC « Tier ied 1966 * {et

and

6.6 ¢ Car ©C parc. © 6.5

drops

10

Singer Sophie

: Ash Wednesday

snow

6.6

{6.5

C £0. © women, chartered, South Hadley, Mass., 1836 © {¢3

Fr.|

15

Birthday (observed, U.S.) ® born, 1820

first,

° {33

then

Winter's Canadian Pacific Railway 7 back breaks. ® Company incorporated, 1881 ° 15.0 Ember RIDES . Tie broken: Thomas Jefferson to be

+| Day

a fe alling i While

HIGH ® U.S. president; Aaron Burr, V.P., 1801

18

England’s Queen “Bloody” Mary I born, 1516 e Tides

19

Ember. First official U.S. government 5 5.5 Day ° weather predictions published, 1871 ® ites {5.3 Ember, Regeneration of Silene stenophylla from 5.7

20 |

24

s mild,

get

: Ballerina Dame Margot. { 5.8 2nd S. Lu Lent ® Fonteyn died, 1991 te{35 Full 10-lb. 14-0z. ‘aweoweo caught, 5.9

22

23

it’s

Sa.| Day © 30,000-year-old fruit tissue announced, 2012 © 13.5

21

pe

Snow \/ ® Penguin Bank, O’ahu, Hawaii, 2005 ® {sg Jumace

|Tu.|

U.S. rocket mail flight across

6.0

SUC Greenwood Lake, N.Y. toNJ., 1936 ° {5.9

fixed.

St. Matthias ©( 25, e (ar QQ Skunks mate now. Appalling!

Painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir born, 1841 e Tides {2:8 5.8 26

aT.

Canada’s GEODESIC mission launched ,

APO. ® into northern lights, Alaska, 2000

Do -.

Edwin Land granted patent for self-developing film, 1951

28

3rd 8. inbente SU Oe seared iso

29

Leap Day e 6O'Ce | retrace wer Ae?

.

Territory

of Colorado,

Leap year was never.

Listen to the

I hear

{5.3

* 133 Key West

{5.1

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. —Unknown

5.6

° Zides {35

Da

2016

are

SOG oPe seen Apo e Tides {$3 intermixed, First Barbie dolls went onSome, sale, 1959 @ Tides {6.2 ©° oatin § , lentine’s — First deserve, 1st S Mm Lent °* Day © and then desire. Washington’s Susan B. Anthony 5.9

14

16 17

Be

on . Mount Holyoke Seminary, first U.S. college for,

11

12]

e 3OCe SOG SPCe Tides

rain,

a calling?

Farmer’s Calendar @ Every once in a while, we enjoy an influx of exotic birds, brought here on strong winds or by a shortage of food in their home territories. Ornithologists call it an “irruption.” There was a tragic example in late May of 1974 when strong southwesterly winds blew scarlet tanagers all the way north to New Hampshire, where there were no insects for them to eat. I will never forget their flame-red bodies littering a green field. Over the last two

winters,

we have been blessed with an abundance of snowy owls coming south in search of prey. In this case, it was not winds but an abundance of lemmings, the owl’s favorite snack, that ex-

panded their territory and led to our shock when one of the white phantoms flew through the beam of our headlights. This being a presidential election year, we can expect a political irruption as candidates from all corners of the nation flock to New Hampshire for the first primary of the season. We can look forward to shaking hands with shivering would-be Chief Executives at diners and factory gates and answering questions from the national reporters who follow. One of those reporters, perhaps disoriented by the cold, once asked me how I liked living in Vermont. “This is New Hampshire,” I said. He wrote it down.

Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

131

Drer

SKY WATCH % Saturn, in Ophiuchus all year, hovers to the right of the Moon early on the 2nd. Venus floats to the Moon’s right on the 7th at dawn but is challengingly low. On the Sth, Jupiter reaches opposition and is at its biggest and brightest of 2016; the Giant Planet is visible all night long. Spring arrives with the equinox on the 20th, a half-hour after midnight. Jupiter floats to the upper left of the Moon on the 21st. The full Moon undergoes a penumbral eclipse before dawn on the 23rd for western United States and Canadian insomniacs. Mars forms a triangle with the Moon and dimmer Saturn on the 29th, a few hours before dawn.

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23rd day

8th hour

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31st day

11th hour

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Tossing his mane of snows in wildest eddies and tangles,

Farmer’s Calendar @ For many years, we’ve had a phoebe nest atop our front porch light fixture. Phoebes are small gray birds with the habit of flicking their tails up and down while perching on a branch or wire. Their call is a harsh, indignant “fee-BEE!” I don’t know why Mama phoebe chose such a public place to raise her young. Every

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time the door opened, she had

boots

to flee to the oak tree across the driveway. No wonder she sounded vexed. In past years, she used the old nest, but this year it has remained unoccupied. She is trying to build a new one above the front door, on a half-inchwide piece of molding. It’s too narrow. Despite her best efforts, every morning little bits of moss appear on the porch right under the door. There are two mysteries here. One is why the phoebe doesn’t just reoccupy the old nest. My wife thinks that it’s because the last brood Mama raised there all died. Perhaps there’s some subtle residue

and

bumbershoots.

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of disaster in it, too faint for human senses, that keeps the

fantastic:.

phoebes away. The other mystery is why she persists in trying to do the impossible. She has numerous other places to build a nest. Maybe for phoebes, like people, the tug of home is too strong to resist, even when we should.

24 |'Th.|Maundy Thursday» Clemen' Hardyissuedpatent, (57

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Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

133

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SKY WATCH % Mercury’s best 2016 evening star appearance unfolds in the first week of April, 40 minutes after sunset in the west.-Orange Aldebaran is occulted by the Moon soon after nightfall on the 10th and is best seen from the eastern United States and Canada. Mars, retrograding, brightens dramatically to magnitude —1,3 and rises before midnight at midmonth. Dangling just below Mars all month is the orange supergiant Antares, whose very name means “The Rival of Mars.” Brilliant Jupiter hovers just above the Moon on the 17th. On the 25th, the gibbous Moon forms a dramatic triangle with Mars to its lower right and Saturn to its lower left. All inhabit the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer. New Moon

7th day

7th hour

24th minute

13th day

23rd hour

59th minute

Full Moon

22nd day

Ist hour

24th minute

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29th day

23rd hour

29th minute

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Farmer’s Calendar

aGane nooks. Thomas Buchanan Read

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morning our road was covered with efts (pronounced “eefts” around here). They’re juvenile spotted newts, about an

| Weather|

inch long, who

were

born in

fresh water, probably the pond across the road, and emerged a month or so later to spend the next 3 or 4 years on land before returning to their wet world. You can’t miss them. They’re bright orange-red. Old-timers might call them cunning, which used to mean “cute” or “beguiling.” My mother-inlaw, a pediatrician,

used the

word when she held newborn babies: “Isn’t she cunning!” When’'l hold an eft in the palm of my hand, I stare at its tiny toes with the same astonishment and delight. Efts need moisture to survive; during a dry spell, they crawl under the leaf mold. If they’re not quick, we find them on the road. They’re no longer cunning as little hardened orange-red commas. Although their bright color warns some predators that they are toxic, most efts don’t survive on land. They’re eaten by birds and lizards or crushed by cars. Those who make it back to the pond turn olive-green and spend the rest of their lives in water. Efts, according to biologists, are economically valuable because they eat mosquito larvae. We should give them credit for being cunning, too.

Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

135

Ar

SKY WATCH » The brilliant winter constellations, now low in the west at nightfall, plunge into twilight at midmonth and disappear until fall. Jupiter, in Leo, sits to the upper left of the Moon on the 14th. The Moon forms a triangle with brilliant Mars and first-magnitude Saturn on the 21st. Mars reaches opposition on the 22nd. Rising after sunset at a brilliant magnitude —2.0, it is out all night long. This is the planet’s biggest and brightest appearance in over a decade, although seeing details on the Martian disk can still be challenging with small telescopes. The Moon hovers to the left of Saturn on the 22nd. At dawn, the eastern sky is now empty, with Venus long vanished into the solar glare.

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2016

Blest power of sunshine! Genial day! Whatppain, what life is in thy ray. Thomas Moore

Farmer’s Calendar

@ Spring has been late this year. We had January, February, March, more

Day*{

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lark and

whippoorwill!

March,

and

then a weird hybrid I’m calling Maypril. When we got up the morning of the Memorial Day parade, the temperature was 37 degrees and it was raining. We dressed warmly and drove up to the center of town for the procession, one of my favorite events of the year. The police closed Main Street, a tricky business, as it is the main east-west highway in southern New Hampshire, and the whole town marched up to the cemetery, following the veterans, the middle school band, and a gaggle of Cub Scouts, Brownies, and Little Leaguers.

The across

cemetery

looks

west

our

which

was

lake,

flecked with whitecaps in a stiff breeze. As we assembled among the stones, some going back to Revolutionary

times,

the drivers waiting for us were released, and they roared by. Between the traffic and the wind,

hardly

a word

of the

minister’s patriotic speech was audible. Then the police closed the road again, and we retreated into town for the national anthem and the raising of the flag back to full-staff. All in all, it

was a miserable way to spend a morning, but compared to what many of the men with flags on their graves suffered, we could

hardly complain.

Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

137

Cc A L E N D A R

SKY WATCH » A fabulous planet month! Saturn, in Ophiuchus, attains opposition on the 3rd. Its icy reflective rings, tilted wide “open,” are stunning through telescopes and give Saturn its brightest appearance in more than a decade. On the 6th, Venus reaches its invisible superior conjunction. Its alignment with the Sun and Earth is so perfect that it is actually occulted by the Sun. Mars, still brilliant, retrogrades into Libra; like Saturn, it remains out all night long. Jupiter beats them both in brightness and doesn’t set until after midnight. The Moon hovers to the left of Jupiter on the 11th and sits above Saturn on the 18th. Summer begins with the solstice on the 20th, at 6:34 P.M. New Moon Aroszmreroa First Quarter

Full Moon Last Quarter e0ee

4th day

23rd hour

0 minute

12th day

4th hour

10th minute

20th day

7th hour

3rd minute

27th day

14th hour

_ minute

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2016

Then flash the wings returning summer calls Through the deep arches of her forest halls. -otiver Wendell Holmes

eae 3E|=8! a=|a=

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We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle. —Marilyn Monroe

2016

Farmer’s Calendar @ All month, a bird in our woods has been driving me crazy. I call it the heeby-jeeby bird, because

that’s

what

its

call sounds like to me: “heebyjeeby, heeby-jeeby,” or sometimes “heeby-jeeby-jeeby.” I haven’t seen it, so I can’t look

it up in bird books. Googling “pird that says “heeby-jeeby’” wasn’t helpful. We had to drive to Connecticut for a commencement, so we decided to try listening to a CD of bird calls—perhaps we would hear it there. We hadn’t counted on the dogs, who lounged in the

back cargo area. When they heard the recorded Canada geese, they stiffened. They know all about Canada geese, having chased and been chased by them. They started to thrash around, checking all the windows. Where were those geese? The recording moved on to the Wood Duck, the Gambel’s Quail, the Greater Yellowlegs, none of which are familiar

sounds around our house. False alarm: The dogs relaxed. Then the Barred Owl started hooting: red alert! Wiggles spun in mad circles, scanning 360 de-

grees. Echo barked, she bayed, she squealed in excitement; she did her level best to hoot back. Fearing that some dog would crash through a window, we finally had to turn off the CD . player. We never did hear the heebyjeeby bird.

Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

139

DZ

SKY WATCH % Earth reaches aphelion, its annual point farthest from the Sun, on the 4th. Pluto comes nearest on the 5th, with an opposition on the 7th. However, each Pluto opposition is noticeably farther away than the previous year’s, thanks to its highly elliptical orbit. After its 1989 closest approach, Pluto is decisively moving away, an exit that will continue until the 22nd century. Jupiter is now getting lower in the west at nightfall; its annual observation window is nearing its end. The waxing Moon passes above Mars on the 14th and above Saturn on the 15th; all are nearly due south at nightfall. Saturn is still amazing through backyard telescopes, while Mars is now rapidly shrinking. op > Ba © —)P

@

New Moon

© © ®

First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter

4th day

7th hour

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11th day 19th day 26th day

20th hour 18th hour 19th hour

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2016

Cc A

Today the sun has‘steadfast been and clear. No wind has marred the spell of hushful heat. -Pniiip Bourke Marston Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights AT

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Cosmetics executive Estée

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Farmer’s Calendar BI can remember how much fun we had as children making up games once school was out. When adult intervention came along, in the form of Little League, I tried out and it was a complete disaster. It nearly destroyed my love of baseball. I was cut the first day. These days, nobody ever gets cut. I’m not sure which is worse. Before Little League, we played a wonderfully democratic form of baseball we called work-up. There were only four players at bat, and everyone else played in the field. Whenever one of the batters

take

4.5

15 | Fr. |St Swithin » to tyke: Zoo Atlanta, Ga, 2018 ® Tides {$5

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15-16: 22.22" rain in 47 16|Sa.| 9QedhGe f} hours, Altapass, N.C., 1916® {53

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an out, he or she went

out to play right field, and everyone else worked up (hence the name) one position: The right fielder moved to center,

17] B |9th S. at. P.e Grsiowegs ian {35 "ide

center fielder to left, left fielder to third base, third to short-

18]

M.| SBC « 102°F, Fort Smith, N.W.T., 1941 @ Tides {37

stop, shortstop to second base,

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the batters, you never had long St. Anne © to wait before it was your turn * AT Grasshopper swarms ruined crops eTides {27 Stay to hit. There were no innings, 27) W. ¢ PERIG. ® in Midwest this month, 1931 and nobody kept score, because 28 Th. Metric system became legal in U.S., 1866 e Tides {2° ahead there were no teams. EveryBritain’s Prince Charles wed. { 4.9 29 |Fr. |St. Martha © @ star. « Lady Diana Spencer, 1981 ° 15.6 of one was just playing together. When caught by the tempest, wherever it be, . 5.0 I wonder if anyone still plays 30 Sa. If it lightens and thunders, beware of a tree! oiaes 5.7 the ribes . Actor Dean int work-up. 31] B |ith S. af. Pp. © tice ¢ nin toma 1966 zucchini!

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Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

141

Lt E N { D A R

Tue

Eicura

Monta

SKY WATCH % Venus is now technically an evening star. With an unobstructed horizon, it can first be glimpsed in the western twilight on the 4th, 35 minutes after sunset. Look for the thin crescent Moon just to the left of Mercury, with Venus far to its lower right and Jupiter higher and to the left of them all. The Moon stands above fading Mars on the 11th. It sets by 1:00 4.m. to provide dark skies for the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in the hours ~ before dawn. This should be one of the better years for this most popular display of shooting stars. From the 19th to the 24th, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury form a triangle very low in the western sky after sunset. Venus and Jupiter are extremely close together on the 27th.

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2016

AUGUST Days

* 2016

Against the windows the storm comes dashing, Through tattered foliage, the.hail tears crashing. —tames R. Lowell Sé|/

Farmer’s Calendar @ The fungus appeared sudss denly in early August: shelfs Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights like fruiting structures on an Lammas . /fthe first week in August is unusually warm, enormous dead ash tree that Day the winter will be white and long. Thunder Cookies baked on vehicle’s dashboard ; marked the boundary between NEW @ ® during heat wave, Bedford, N.H., 2006 muttering, our property and that of our Calvin Coolidge sworn in as U.S. president . {5.8 ideal *| at 2:47 a.m. by father at Vermont homestead, 1923 6.0 neighbor to the south. SOC © dQC e Canada entered WWI, 1914 « {33 for They seemed to appear overi 5. {Car edUCe Arirtrong bom,930° {5% -Dasement night. One morning I looked _| Transfiguration © ( 2 0 Fee an engogame! puttering. out my kitchen window, and there they were. So I made Gray squirrels have 5.7 sags 12th B. at. P.« secondlitters now. © {= Roasting: a cup of coffee and walked +7, . Explorer Matthew A 533) 2 ‘ . St. Dominie ¢Feeson born, 1866 ®Tides 123 ; How | into the woods to investigate.

AT @ Deadly tornado, Wallingford, Conn., 1878

about |The color of the fungus was

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Isaac Singer received patent for continuous-

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3-yr.-old Jamie Gavin became youngest.

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extraordinary: It glowed like hot coals. At first glance, it looked artificial, like a pile of discarded orange traffic cones. But how would they have gotten into our woods? The bizarre organisms clustered thickly around the base of the tree and climbed its trunk,~ sprouting in thel crotches of

limbs

20

feet

high.

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; j looked like invaders from outer

space in L a 1950s horror film. A little research revealed

out! |them to be Laetiporus sulphu-

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Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

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143

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SEPTEMBER

SKY WATCH »% Neptune comes closest to Earth on the Ist, with an opposition on the 2nd in Aquarius. A small telescope reveals its blue disk and its strange, backward-orbiting satellite, Triton. The Moon is to the upper left of Venus on the 3rd, above Saturn on the 8th, and to the upper left of Mars on the 9th, before passing to the left of Neptune on the 15th. Mars, still bright at magnitude —0.2, is increasing its eastward speed passing through Ophiuchus. The 22nd brings the equinox and autumn at 10:21 a.m. Look for Mercury’s best morning star appearance from the 24th to the 30th. On the 29th, Mercury hovers above the crescent Moon.

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Farmer’s Calendar @ When May and I bought our forest Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights | Weather| piece of second-growth of Week of MonthDay Day in 1978, we carved out a cleary New @ e Eclipse (©) e ( ar §2e Tides Be9 Fine ing for our house, a driveway Great Fire of London and parking space, and a leach [bSCedYUCeU ar Se began, 1666 field. Now the forest is creepU.S./Great Britain signed o{ Popsicles 20. OCs Treaty of Paris, 1783 ing back. Tornado, Minneapolis, o{ and 16th S. af. PB. Minn., 1941 The last time the woods Zeal without iowledae 5.7 closed in, about 15 years ago, SHOW Cones, Labour Day e is fire without light. {5.4 we had a notion of clearing a -| (ar aro. @ Scientist John Dalton born, 1766 e {°° beware view of the Wapack Range, 5.2 _ |Destructive hailstorm, Calgary, Alta., 1991 e Tides { 5.4 of 10 miles away, and opening a Original Star Trek series tropsical slot that would allow a lance of * debuted on television, 1966 ® Tides {3 5.2 Harland Sanders, Kentucky Fried o{ 4.8 cyclones! sunrise to strike our bedroom WN SP COONAN . ofoi ® Chicken founder, born, 1890 5.1 window on the spring and fall Cranberry bog harvest . ‘| RUNS LOW @ Batten begins, Cape Cod, Mass. ® e Tides {eo a equinoxes. Jt would be our prihatches: vate Stonehenge. 17th S. at: 2. ott 5.0 Day (U.S.) oe SPC e {2 fo)IN Astronauts Jan Davis and Mark Lee first married Then we realized that such showery % INF. couple to fly on same space mission, 1992 a slot would have to be about .| Psychiatrist Adolf Meyer born, 1866 e Tides {23 patches. 55 a quarter-mile long and require And now the autumn season waits,

In mellowing forms offruitage. -stephen Henry Thayer

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Let difficulties know that you, too, are difficult. —Dr. Abdul Kalam

2016

constant trimming to be kept open. That sounded like too much work for the sake of feeling like a Druid two mornings a year. So we settled for pushing back the woods to let in more morning light. Now it’s time to do it again. But when? Weekends are already too hectic. My wife, who teaches, is in school for 10 to 14

hours every weekday, and I’ve promised not to use the chainsaw solo. Instead, I used our big clippers to take down the smallest saplings at ground level and lop off the tops of bigger ones. What’s left is a strange spectacle: dozens of 4-foot-high sticks with no branches. It looks more like a modern art installation than Stonehenge. All it needs is a catalog.

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145

SKY WATCH * The Moon passes above Venus on the 3rd, to the right of Saturn on the Sth, and above Mars on the 7th and 8th. Mars hits magnitude zero and races into Sagittarius. Mercury remains visible low in the predawn sky for the first 2 weeks of October. It forms a tight conjunction with returning Jupiter on the 11th. The pair of Mercury at magnitude —1 and Jupiter at—1.7 is gorgeous, although very low 40 minutes before sunrise. Uranus reaches opposition in Pisces on the 15th; seeing the Green Planet usually requires binoculars. After midnight early on the 19th, bright Aldebaran is occulted by the Moon, an event visible in the southern and eastern United States.

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2016

OcTOBER

The white chrysanthemums and asters star The frosty silence. —Atice Marland (Wellington) Rollins Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights

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| the natural world. While I pon|dered this conundrum, the dogs | studied the webs closely. Then |Wiggy ate one. I pulled the

dogs away

and

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,| No man is his craft’s master the first day. @ {af

red

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brighter against the fog.

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i sine eee recions dogs istracted me, keeping me

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less appealing for me, but more effective for the spiders. A serious naturalist would have sat down next to the webs and watched them carefully, through a magnifying glass, taking notes. But then again, a serious naturalist wouldn’t have brought along the dogs.

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147

|

NOVEMBER

SKY WATCH + The Moon floats above Saturn and Venus on the 2nd, 45 minutes after sunset. Returning Venus -moves higher this month and will be widely noticed; it is no longer a challenge. The Moon stands high above Mars on the 6th, due south at nightfall. An extraordinary “Supermoon” occurs on the 14th as the Moon comes its nearest to Earth since January 26, 1948. For most people, this is the largest and brightest full Moon of their lives (page 112). The effect on the tides, especially on the 15th, will be dramatic. A bright waning gibbous Moon will spoil the medium-strength Leonid meteor shower on the 18th. On the 25th, the Moon dangles below returning Jupiter in its new home of Virgo. Jupiter rises at around 4:00 a.m.

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2016

NOVEMBER

The soft November days are here, The elit of blossom’s year. —Sara Louisa (Vickers) Oberholtzer We DayMonth of rade!

1

Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights

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2016

Farmer’s Calendar M@ The town moderator is responsible for running the elections. It’s not a big chore. The town clerk, the supervisors of the checklist, and the ballot erator is a figurehead. In this for 12 years. The moderator

opens

the

polls at 8:00 A.m., stands at the checkout table, takes every-

one’s ballots from their hands (as state law requires), and puts them in the box. The ballots are made of paper,

and

it’s a wooden

box,

made in 1883, the same year that our Victorian town hall was built. The voters mark their ballots with pencils in little booths with red-white-and-blue curtains. The polls close at 7:00 p.m. and we start counting the votes by hand. The only sounds are the shuffle of the ballots, the scratching of pencils, and the

murmur of the clerks. We’re usually finished by 10:00, although in a presidential election, we’ve stayed as late as 1:00 in the morning. After announcing the results, I thank the workers for participating in this civic sacrament. That’s when I get choked up; the weight of what we’ve been doing hits me hard. This is democracy—marking pieces of paper, putting them in a wooden box, and then counting them one by one.

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149

Ar

DECEMBER

SKY WATCH > Venus finally makes its run to prominence, getting even higher and brighter as it meets the Moon on the 2nd and 3rd. Mercury lurks far lower as it starts a mediocre 3-week evening star apparition. Mars, just one-tenth as bright as it was in June, moves through Capricornus and into Aquarius, steadily sinking toward Venus. The solstice falls on the 21st at 5:44 A.m., inaugurating winter. On the predawn stage, the Moon floats above brilliant Jupiter early on the 22nd, with Virgo’s famous blue star Spica just beneath them both after 3:00 a.m. Much more challenging is dim returning Saturn meeting a hair-thin Moon very low in morning twilight on the 27th.

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2016

DECEMBER

Heart-warm against the stormy white,

Farmer’s Calendar @ A few weeks before Christ-

= es a Joy burns warmer yet. Thomas Gold Appleton Dates, Feasts, Fasts, Aspects, Tide Heights RUNS

oo

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First flight of helium-filled blimp

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eyesight, which is not much use belowground. Its nose, though, is covered with 25,000 sensory receptors called Eimer’s organs, which make it six times more sensitive than the human

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oi e Halcyon Days begin. @ (GERIDES e Tides Be

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: 6.9 as Bill of Rights ratified, 1791 @ Beware the Posonip, ® Tides {&)

5 relief

16

Ember . Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of

No

to be

6.7

Day. ®Peter Rabbit first published, 1901 © Tides {2 Bob Fisher made 2,371 basketball free

17

.| Ember Day ¢ throws in 1 hour, Centralia, Kans., 2011

joseoo

4th S. of Advent « C 1 Q e Tides {1

19

© star. 0 Some atis hang with beantifol icieles.” 1804

20

$1 bachelor tax imposed, Mo., 1820 @ Tides {zi

seen—

is

La, Purchase explorer Wm. Dunbar; * .. the e[a]ves

Winter

¢ Vladimir Horowitz wed

21

St. Thomas ©solstice * @£0.° Wanda Toscanini, 1933

92|Th.|

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Ce Pirate Bluebeard died, 1440 @ Tides {i

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23 | Fr, |-50°F, Almont and Williston, N.Dak., 1983 e Tides {7-4 Chanukah begins _CONAD (later, NORAD) at sundown s.os to track Santa Claus, 1955 P: bl ked,

24

25

Christmas © C sho. Manitattan: Mont,1896

26 27

snow . machine ? c

Please:

St.Stephen e Boxing Day e eee. of »-Tides {2i

more

Man’s best candle 5 5.8 Tu. St. John « ShE ® is his understanding. epics ue 45 green,

28 |W.| Holy Innocents. Chow edOCe Swine. e Chemist Charles

29 |Th.| New 6: SEC , } STAT. ® Macintosh born, 1766 30 |Fr. |1.3" snow, LasVegas, Nev., 2003 @ Tides Pes

less ie leen in

St Sylvester @ Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians first played “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight, 1929

2016

mole near our pond. A little bigger than an ordinary mole, it has an uncanny star-shaped nose. Circling the tip are 22 hairless tentacles that serve as the mole’s primary sensory organ.

temps

Tides {fe 36

4C e Actor Kirk Douglas born, 1916 e Tides { a. Gi G.

10

mas, I found a dead star-nosed

,

I7!

hand.

Underground,

the ten-

tacles whirl around, touching objects near the mole with astounding swiftness: 12 objects per second. In a quarter of a second, the mole can identify

an object, decide if it’s prey (worms,

mostly),

and eat it.

Half the mole’s. brain is devoted to processing this information; it literally thinks with its nose. This mole also hunts underwater by smell. Its stellar nostrils emit tiny bubbles—S5 to 10 per second—that pick up scent molecules. These the mole inhales. Not until this

was discovered did scientists believe that mammals could smell underwater. I walked home that day contemplating the magnificent weirdness of nature and the Magi, those ancient astronomers who also found their way through the darkness by following a star.

Listen to the Farmer’s Calendar at Almanac.com/Multimedia.

151

Cc A L E N D A R

For Movable Religious Observances, see page 123. _New Year’s Day* Family Day (B.C.)

Féte Nationale (Qué.) Discovery Day, observed (N.L.)

National Flag of Canada Day

July 1

Canada Day* |

Family Day (Alta., Ont., Sask.) Nova Scotia Heritage Day (N.S.)

July9

Nunavut Day

Heritage Day (Y.T-) Leap Day Ea Commonwealth Day

N.B., N.W.T.,.N.S., Nunavut, ee Cee Ont.P.E.L, Sask) Aug. 15Discovery Day(¥.T.)

iaalat x. islander :

June 24 June 27

Day (REL) 30

s Day (N.L.) Good FridaySo ik Rae eG Easter Monday May 23

Victoria Day

June 21

National Aboriginal Day

Se

ee 4. five Ha il

bi dn

“4

Sept. 6 =Labvout Pay a

A

ee

Oct. 10

Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 11 Nov. 20 Dec. 25

Remembrance Day* National Child Day Christmas Day*

Dec. 26 Boxing Day at

ee

a

First day of Kwanzaa

*When this day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is observed as a holiday. Federal Holidays

» Groundhog Day

® Traditionally, February 2 was the day when farmers tried to determine the weather for the next 6 weeks. They believed that if an animal came out of hibernation on this day ahd saw its shadow, winter would continue. : For centuries, farmers in France and England looked to a bear; in Germany, they kept their eye on the badger. In the 1800s, German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought the tradition with them. Finding no badgers there, they adopted the groundhog to fit the lore. Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil has announced spring’s arrival since 1887. His accuracy rate is believed by some to be 100 percent. From 1956 to 2006, two successive albino groundhogs named Wiarton Willie made annual weather prognostications in Wiarton, Ontario, with

an accuracy of about 90 percent. In 2007, a third albino Wiarton Willie assumed the role of weather prognosticator. 152

Love calendar lore? Find more at Almanac.com/Calendar.

Di nh ~P

2016

Apogean Tide: A monthly tide of decreased range that occurs when the Moon is at apogee (farthest from Earth).

Diurnal Tide: A tide with one high water and one low water in a tidal day of approximately 24 hours.

Mean Lower Low Water: The arithmetic mean of the lesser of a daily pair of low waters, observed over a specific 19-year cycle called the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

Neap Tide: A tide of decreased range that occurs twice a month, when the Moon is in

quadrature (during its first and last quarters, when the Sun and the Moon are at right angles to each other relative to Earth).

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Perigean Tide: A monthly tide of increased range that occurs when the Mooris at perigee (closest to Earth).

Semidiurnal Tide: A tide with one high water and one low water every half day. East Coast tides, for example, are semidiurnal,

with two highs and two:lows during a tidal day of approximately 24 hours.

Spring Tide: A tide of increased range that occurs at times of syzygy each month. Named not for the season of spring but from the German springen (“to leap up’), a spring tide also brings a lower low water. Syzygy: The nearly straight-line configuration that occurs twice a month, when the

Sun and the Moon are in conjunction (on the same side of Earth, at the new Moon) and when they are in opposition (on opposite sides of Earth, at the full Moon). In both cases, the gravitational effects of the Sun

and the Moon reinforce each other, and tidal range is increased.

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THE OLD: FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

153

Atomic Time (TA) Scale: A time scale based on atomic or molecular resonance phenomena. Elapsed time is measured by counting cycles of a frequency locked to an Aroazmrroa atomic or molecular transition.

second is called a positive leap second, and an omitted second is called a negative leap second. We currently need to insert a leap second about once per year.

Date: A unique instant defined in a specified time scale. NOTE: The date can be conventionally expressed in years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and fractions. Greenwich

Mean

Time

(GMT):

A

24-

hour system based on mean solar time plus 12 hours at Greenwich, England. Greenwich

Mean Time can be considered approximately equivalent to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is broadcast from all standard time and frequency radio stations. However,

GMT

is now

obsolete

and has

been replaced by UTC. International Atomic Time (TAI): An atomic time scale based on data from a worldwide set of atomic clocks. It is the internationally agreed-upon time reference conforming to the definition of the second, the fundamental unit of atomic time in the International System of Units (SI). Leap Second: An intentional time step of one second used to adjust UTC. An inserted

Mean Solar Time: Apparent solar time corrected for the effects of orbital eccentricity and the tilt of Earth’s axis relative to the ecliptic plane; that is, corrected by the equation of time, which is defined as the hour angle of the true Sun minus the hour angle of the mean Sun. Second: The basic unit of time or time interval in the International System of Units (SD, which is equal to 9,192,631,770 peri-

ods of radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of cesium-133 as defined at the 1967 Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures. Sidereal Time: The measure of time defined by the apparent diurnal motion of the vernal equinox; hence, a measure of the ro-

tation of Earth with respect.to the reference frame that is related to the stars rather than

the Sun. A mean solar day is about 4 minutes longer than a sidereal day. —(U.S.) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Friggatriskaidekaphobia Trivia He

154

Find more heavenly details at Almanac.com/Astronomy.

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lM Many readers have expressed puzzlement over the rather obscure entries that appear on our Right-Hand Calendar Pages, 125-151. These “oddities” have long been fixtures in the Almanac, and we are pleased to provide some definitions. (Once explained, they may not seem so odd after all!) (Hence the term “distaff” refers to women’s

work or the maternal side of the family.) Plough Monday (January): Tradition-

Krommes ~—Beth

Ember Days: The four periods observed by some Christian denominations for prayer, fasting, and the ordination of clergy are called Ember Days. Specifically, these are the Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays that occur in succession following (1) the First Sunday in Lent; (2) Whitsunday—Pentecost; (3) the Feast

of the Holy Cross, September 14; and (4) the Feast of St. Lucia, December 13. The word ember is perhaps a corruption of the Latin quatuor tempora, “four times.” Folklore has it that the weather on each of the 3 days foretells the weather for the next 3 months; that is, in September, the first Ember Day, Wednesday, forecasts the

weather for October; Friday predicts November; and Saturday foretells December. Distaff Day (January 7): This was the.

first day after Epiphany (January 6), when women were expected to return to their spinning following the Christmas holiday. A distaff is the staff that women used for holding the flax or wool in spinning. 156

ally, the first Monday after Epiphany was called Plough Monday because it was the day when men returned to their plough, or daily work, following the Christmas holiday. (Every few years, Plough Monday and Distaff Day fall on the same day.) It was customary at this time for farm laborers to draw a plough through the village, soliciting money for a “plough light,” which was kept burning in the parish church all year. This traditional verse captures the spirit of it: “Yule is come and Yule is gone, and we have feasted well; so Jack must to his flail again and Jenny to her wheel.” Three Chilly Saints (May): Mamertus, Pancras, and Gervais were three. early Christian saints. Because their feast days,

‘on May 11, 12, and 13, respectively, are traditionally cold, they have come to be known as the Three Chilly Saints. An old French saying translates to: “St. Mamertus, St. Pancras, and St. Gervais do not pass without a frost.”

Midsummer Day (June 24): To the farmer, this day is the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest. (Midsummer Eve is an occasion for festivity and celebrates fertility.) The Anglican church considered it a “Quarter Day,” one of the four major divisions of the liturgical year. It also marks the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

Love calendar lore? Find more at Almanac.com/Calendar.

2016

Cornscateous Air (July): First used by early almanac makers, this term signifies warm, damp air. Though it signals ideal climatic conditions for growing com, it poses a danger to those affected by asthma and other respiratory problems. _ Dog Days (July 3-August 11): These

40 days are traditionally the year’s hottest and unhealthiest. They once coincided with the year’s heliacal (at sunrise) ris-

ing of the Dog Star, Sirius. Ancient folks thought that the “combined heat” of Sirius and the Sun caused summer’s swelter.

Certain groups in the United States, particularly the Pennsylvania Dutch, have

kept the tradition alive. St. Luke’s Little Summer (October): This is a spell of warm weather that occurs on or near St. Luke’s feast day (October 18) and is sometimes called Indian summer.

Indian Summer (November): A period of warm weather following a cold spell or a hard frost, Indian summer can

occur between St. Martin’s Day (November 11) and November 20. Although there

1): Derived

are differing dates for its occurrence,

from the Old English hlaf maesse, meaning “loaf mass,” Lammas Day marked the beginning of the harvest. Tradition-

for more than 200 years the Almanac has adhered to the saying “If All Saints’

_ally, loaves of bread were baked from

the first-ripened grain and brought to the

tin’s brings out Indian summer.” The term may have come from early Native

churches to be consecrated. Eventually,

Americans, some of whom believed that

“loaf mass” became “Lammas.” In Scot-

the condition was caused by a warm wind sent from the court of their southwestern

Lammas

Day (August

land, Lammastide fairs became famous

as the time when trial marriages could be made. These marriages could end after a year with no strings attached. Cat Nights Begin (August 17): This

term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. An Irish legend says that a witch could turn into a cat and regain herself eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t change back, hence the saying: “A cat has nine lives.” Because August is a “yowly” time for cats, this may have initially prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl. Harvest Home

(September):

In Eu-

rope and Britain, the conclusion of the harvest each autumn was marked by festivals of fun, feasting, and thanksgiving known as “Harvest Home.” It was also a time to hold elections, pay workers,

and collect rents. These festivals usually took place around the autumnal equinox. 2016

(November 1) brings out winter, St. Mar-

god, Cautantowwit. Halcyon Days (December): This refers to about 2 weeks of calm weather that of-

ten follow the blustery winds of autumn’s end. Ancient Greeks and Romans experienced this weather around the time of the winter solstice, when the halcyon, or kingfisher, was brooding in a nest float-

ing on the sea. The bird was said to have charmed the wind and waves so that the

waters were especially calm during this period. Beware

the Pogonip

(December):

The word pogonip refers to an uncommon occurrence—frozen fog. The word was coined by Native Americans to describe the frozen fogs of fine ice needles that occur in the mountain valleys of the western United States and Canada. According to their tradition, breathing the fog is injurious to the lungs. @

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

157,

Cc A L E N D A R

Fishing

sunrise and sunset, and also du ise However, most of us go fishin time. But there are best times, and one hour after high tides, and one hour before fter low tides. (The times of high tides for Halifax are 124-150; also see pages 248-249. Inland, the times

for high tides correspond with the times when the Moon Is due south. Low tides:arehalfway between high tides.) _sesnveteensecnnss

ee

ee

ea Pars the Aaoninie rise’(after sunup for a spell)and the “evening rise’ G(just before sundown and the hour or so after). erent

LOELE TOTO LOREEN ELLE OEEEDRE AN EELERE TELE

SE EBD ERE

ERLE

SLES DIETER

SLL NEILLLES

a During the ae and set of the Moon. _stebotesecovoscoeneoceceananananaenenecanatanenacnaececamnanar

aon meaNgeRtOORaRRROROCGRTON ONION RIAGI OIOH IRE RRNCOR NIRRCORRORRNTaDE

When the barometer is steady or.on the rise. (But even during stormy periods, the fish aren’t going to give up feeding. The smart fisherman willfind just theright bait.) scien

NNN

NAN

NR

s When ues isa han of Ties caddie flies or widyfiies, commonly. -cenanecanonsensecoseconocanzoreecnpnaccone niin ranEaeRO TRUER InRISRIICRREMINC ORONO

RONNIE

a When the breeze iis from a westerly quarter, rather than from the north or e When the water is still or slightlyAecked, rather than during a nae

d

How to Estimate the Weight of a Fish

Measure the fish from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. Then measure its girth at the thickest portion of its midsection. The weight of a fat-bodied fish (bass, salmon) =

(length x girth x girth)/800 The weight of a slender fish (trout, northern pike) =

(length x girth x girth)/900 Example: If a fish is 20 inches

long and has a 12-inch girth, its estimated weight is (20 x 12 x 12)/900 = 2,880/900 = 3.2 pounds

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THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

159

Fishing

Angling Advice for BY BOB SCAMMELL

« ILLUSTRATIONS

N MORE THAN 50 years of fishing and writing about it, [have received many propositions from readers that I take their kids fishing. I have =, done a considerable amount of that, but only if at least one parent also came along—because, as we know, fishing is about more than just

fishing, bonding and learning being but two by-products. Many times I have taken kids and older folks together, from those who'd never held

a fly rod to those who were able to get their first fly-caught fish in just 1 day. None of this prepared me for the recent letter from Mildred in Georgia who wrote to the Almanac want-

160

BY STEVEN

NOBLE

ing to contact me for help with an angling problem. The letter absolutely enthralls everyone who reads it for varying reasons; with me, it first resonates because it is a real, pen-and-ink, handwritten letter. “IT am a poor’ fisher,’ Mildred

wrote. “I can’t catch a large fish. I see little children catching bigger fish than me. . .. Ihave a lot of lures and hooks, and when I was a child,

my daddy would put my hooks on. my fishing line. He’s dead and gone now so I put them on myself, and I must be putting them on wrong.” Over the years, I have fished with

and taught hundreds

of kids, and

with a few of them, it just didn’t

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stick. It encourages me to hear that early fishing experiences can come back so strongly, as with Mildred. Four decades ago, when I was fishing in Florida, I learned that Georgia, bordering to the north, then offered some of the best and most varied fishing in the USA. I’d love to head down and see if that fishing is still as great—for large- and smallmouth bass, bream, crappie, bluegill, catfish, walleye, trout in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains to the north, sea bass and sea trout in the Atlantic salt, etc——and I’d take

Mildred with me. Fine fishing, far away from home,

Other states and provinces have: similar such resources. Anyone who wouldn’t touch a computer with a 14foot cane pole should think again. Ironically, the iconic old cane pole remains a popular fishing rod in Georgia, especially for kids; could this be

the secret of the local little children catching bigger fish than Mildred? @ The next resort for Mildred is to do what I have done many times on fishing trips to many places in the world: Go to the best tackle shop or sporting goods store in the area.

By all means, glance at the “Fishing Conditions” black or white board found in most shops; ignore the witticisms (“Great Yesterday: Too Late

is something that I have enjoyed enough times to have developed standard procedures that work for me and should work for anyone who yearns to catch a big fish.

help; and buy some tackle and gear based on what you are being told.

@ Find out all you can about the fishing available where you are go-

Actually, no matter what I was told, I'd still buy a 14-foot cane pole, some bobbers, the bait du jour, and,

ing to fish. Even though I’m not Georgia-bound, I have spent considerable time fishing around in a superb Web site befitting a state with

for sure, if they had any, a couple of Calcasieu Pig Boat flies, created for largemouth bass by Louisiana flyfishing great Tom Nixon.

Tomorrow’); ask for tips, hints, and

1.29 million resident anglers, that of

Georgia’s Department of Natural Re-

@ In particular, find out who the local

sources, Wildlife Resources Division

fishing guides are. If there are no

(www.georgiawildlife.org/fishing).

guides, do what angling guru Lefty

Ironically, the iconic old cane pole remains a popular fishing rod in Georgia, especially for kids; could this be the secret of the local little children catching bigger fish?

162

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Fishing

“There’s days when even the guide can’t catch fish.” Kreh has done so many times (once

those; after all, I mastered guddling

with me): Find out who is the best

for trout on a 1987 trip to England. One of the classic cliché covers of the golden age of outdoors magazines showed a cane pole kid having his huge trout weighed in the general store while an impeccably outfitted fly fisherman glowered in the background. Those children catching bigger fish than Mildred does are probably doing it close to home in the Hootchie-cootchie.

' fisherman in the area and pick his brain—maybe even get him to take you fishing. In my home province, real men do not use guides, but on my first trip to Montana, I hired a legendary West Yellowstone guide, the late Jim Danskin, who taught me more about

fly-fishing on our first day than I had been able to teach myself in the previous decade. One tough day years later on challenging Henrys Fork in Idaho, Jim uttered this comforting

truth: “Bob, there’s days when even the guide can’t catch fish.”

@ Our angling saint, Izaak Walton,

counseled anglers to “study to be quiet.” Mildred should study where and when those little children fish,

and she should not be quiet. Give H Do not ignore the near and fa-

miliar. I have enjoyed fabulous fishing in rivers and streams that flow through population centers: Bow River, Crowsnest River, Pincher Creek, Red Deer River, all in Alberta,

and Elk River in British Columbia. One of those wonderful-sounding “Hootchie-cootchie” southern rivers flows through Mildred’s small city, and the latest Internet report I have says that it features good fishing for largemouth bass up to 6 pounds, cat-

them a chance, and kids love to demonstrate what they can do and how you, too, can catch a big fish.

M@ Mildred also asked for a book suggestion. My advice for her and everyone else is to try to obtain a second-hand copy of the best and. most lavishly illustrated—but now out of print—general ‘manual: The Art of Freshwater Fishing (Cy DeCosse Inc., 1985), by Dick Sternberg. You might be able to catch one on the Internet. @

fish, bream, and crappie.

Catfish? It’s a mercy I’m not going there, because I’d just have to try noodling (catching by hand) one of

164

Distinguished outdoors writer and conservationist Bob Scammell, who writes from Red Deer, Alberta, was honored with a 2014 Canadian National Recreational Fisheries Award.

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The all-new Almanac for Kids is now available! Kids can’t put it down. Parents can’t wait to pick it up. blend of wacky facts, quirky stories, and edu-tainment. What's inside: Astronomy + Weather « Nature In the Garden « Food « Sports & more! At Bookstores & Newsstands or online: www.Almanac.com/Shop

2016

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

165

Pets

THE

OVE OF YOUR

U; JUST MAY HAVE FOUR LEGS AND GREEN EYES By Ann Thurlow

The growth in the size and variety of pet stores confirms it: We love our animal friends. But have you ever looked into the deep eyes of your animal companion and thought, “Hey, do you love me back?” onsider this: When Catherine O’Bryan and her husband moved to a remote island off the coast of British Columbia, they decided to take along a goat named Frisky for milk. What they hadn’t counted on was Frisky falling in love... with Catherine’s husband. So besotted ‘was the poor animal ‘that it took every opportunity to butt Catherine out of the way to get closer é

to the man of its dreams, more than

once nearly sending her over a cliff. Or how about this tale of love’ssweet dream?

166

A cat in Massachusetts went nearly mad when its owner brought home a new husband. The cat spent every night in its hapless rival’s face, howling. It refused to eat; it glared at the couple when they kissed. Come to find out, a touch of the

green-eyed monster is not all that uncommon in our four-legged friends. Dr. Nicolas Dodman works at the Tufts University Animal Behavior Clinic and is a renowned expert on animal behavior. In his book Dogs Behaving Badly, he devotes a whole chapter to jealousy. He says that

Photos, clockwise from top left: Peter Samuels/Media Bakery; C. Quinnell; Brian Summers/Media Bakery; Martin Ragner/Media Bakery

Pets

although some jealousy can be explained by an animal’s desire to be

eventually became the subject of a children’s book, A Moose for Jessica.

leader of the pack, the real culprit is of-

ten the longing to be the one, the only one, for a human companion.

ut can we call it “love’’? Dr. Dodman thinks so. Despite the fact that some animal behaviorists disagree, Dodman.believes

strongly that animals are perfectly capable of forming loving attachments. He points out that animals are devoted to their offspring. He says that animals even fall in love with each other. As an example: For 76 days, a bull moose visited a farm in Shrewsbury, Vermont, home of its beloved, a cow

called Jessica. The moose nuzzled Jessica and pushed the other cows away so that Jessica could get at her food. The romance attracted a lot of attention and

Loe

LPrtirte ae

168

ittle prairie voles are another. example. They mate for life, the male spurns the attentions of other females, and the happy couple share baby-raising duties, groom each other, and cuddle for warmth. In fact, prairie voles may offer an important clue about animal ardor. It seems that voles have an abundance of the hormone

oxytocin. Scientists are starting to believe that animal and human bonding might have-something to do with this hormone, which humans and other animals share. It turns out that interacting with an animal can cause the release of oxytocin in both the petter and the petted. The hormone is responsible for feelings of bonding and well-being. It can also give relief from stress or even pain.

AW b Van

ant ser

Photo: Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott/Minden Pictures »

—

s

Pets

When Sellyoe

bay abe

Were

separated,Wr. G re, be. cat. lybean (left) avith Mr. G

r. Anne Marie Carey sees the positive effects of human and animal bonding all the time. She works at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown,

Prince

Ed-

ward Island. She says that animals in her care often respond better to treatment when their humans show up to pet them and encourage them. “Really, I think that this is something beyond science,” she says. “I can only describe it as love.” How else to explain a goat called Photo: courtesy of AnimalPlace.org

Mr. G and its beloved, a donkey named

Jellybean? The two spent all of their time together in Grass Valley, California. When they were separated, Mr. G went into such a funk that he refused to leave his corner of the barn or eat. The only solution? A joyous reunion. f you’re looking for the. most heartfelt examples of love and devotion,

you need search no further than people and their dogs. Dogs have been domesticated for tens of thousands of 169

Pets

Even Ae.most

Zoe stores Cath

40 badwhenjialonsi rears ieee years. Although some dogs are trained deceased master used to return home. to work, the majority of them live with And who can forget the Skye terrier people to provide companionship. known as Greyfriars Bobby that spent Some theorize that a dog’s devotion is 14 years guarding the grave of its bemore to the contents of the food container — loved owner? This love was immortalthan to the person who opens it. But any ized in literature and movies and with human who has been the happy recipient a statue in Edinburgh, Scotland. of doggie kisses would disagree. And they don’t call it “puppy love” for nothing. ut as with Frisky the goat, even Tales of loyal dogs abound. There’s B the most heartfelt of love stories Rin Tin Tin, of course. And Lassie. can go bad when jealousy rears its But there’s also Willie, the Labrador head. Dog owners tell tales of dogs that push other dogs—or even other peopie—* retriever that saved its 6-year-old ownout of the way to claim their human’s uner from a wolf attack in Alaska. Or Hadivided attention. chiko, the canine that became a legend in Japan when every day for 9 years A study done at the University of Caliit went to the train station where its fornia found that dogs definitely tried to

interfere when they thought that their —

What did the lovestruck

cat say to the man of her dreams?

O Romeow, Romeou,

wherefore art thou Romeow? 170

- Owners were paying attention to another dog. The conclusion? The dogs were trying to protect what was, for them, an important social relationship. Maybe even someone they loved. Dr. Dodman often treats this kind of jealous behavior in his own practice. He recommends family therapy to resolve the differences in a maladjusted “ménagerie” a trois. If this doesn’t work? “Seventy percent | of people asked to choose between their spouse and their dog will choose the dog,” he says. & Ann Thurlow, who writes from Charlottetown, PEI, is a regular contributor to the Almanac. Photo: Media Bakery

Pets

Animal Groups ANIMAL _Ant

How Old Is Your Dog?

COLLECTIVE NAME

ultiplying your dog’s age by M seven is easy, but it isn’t very accurate. This more carefully graded system piles the equivalent human years onto a dog’s life more quickly during

Colony, nest, army, state, swarm

‘the dog’s rapid growth to maturity. One “dog year’ equals

4““human years” from

ages 2 to 14 and 24 “human years”

foo

ms Clowder, clutter (kindle or kendle of kittens) __Drove, herd

ar

eer ee

Flock, run, brood, clutch, peep _ Herd,leash

ae ee ee

~

See

Pack (cry ormute of hounds, leash of greyhounds)

GEL

oe

ee

ee

ae cane eed pbed, Flock Hight io,

NP

aeee oe ee

ee ee

ae

Serer area a i RRR

ee

oo

arora arara ae Se

eee

eee

Tribe, trip, flock, herd

eee

Flock (on land), skein (in flight),

Poe eee eae ee

ee

_ gaggleorplump (on water)_

: Haras, stable, remuda, stud, herd, string, field, set,pair, team

=AC

een a

__: Partridge _ _ Covey _ee.

Pig

3

Drift, sounder, herd, ‘triplitter of _ pigs), farrow ‘(litter ofpigs)

_ Quail _Bevy,covey _ d

Pod, herd

y

Gam, pod, school, herd

2016

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

171

HOW CLEAN IS

YOUR

KITCHEN?

Discard everything you think you know— and while you're at it, toss that old sponge, too! BY CYNTHIA

VAN

HAZINGA

e

OST COOKS believe they keep a clean kitchen. Before gathering this information, we certainly did. Now we’re realizing that we may actually be encouraging toxic bacteria that make us: vulnerable to foodborne illnesses! How about you? Take this quiz, test your knowledge, and face the dangers lurking in your kitchen.

Q. How hot should water be

Q. How often should kitchen

when washing hands?

surfaces and implements (e.g., can openers) be washed? a. every spring b. once every month c. once a week d. every time you use them

a. 40°F balS°F c. 120°F d. It doesn’t matter.

A. d. Time spent washing, not water temperature,

makes for clean hands. Scrub hands all over with soap for at least 20 seconds (the

A. d. Wash with soapy water and dry with paper towels. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in a hot cycle.

time it takes to hum “Happy Birthday” twice), then dry them, preferably with disposable towels.

Q. It’s not necessary to wash fruit or vegetables if you’re going to peel them. True or false?

A. False. While cutting, you can easily transfer bacteria from the peel or rind to the inside of your fruit and veggies. Wash all produce with clean running water (no soap). .

Q. Kitchen sponges are safe practically forever. True or false?

A. False. Bacteria thrive in moist environments, and a

other meat with cold water to eliminate any risk of bacteria like salmonella. True or false?

kitchen sponge probably has more bacteria in it than anything else in the house. Replace yours every 1 to 2

A. False. Potentially bacteria-

weeks. Between uses, squeeze

laden juices in the rinse . water that splashes onto your sink and counters pose the risk of food poisoning. Instead, cook the food at/to the proper temperature.

it out and let it dry. Or, every 2 days, get the sponge soaking wet and microwave for 2 minutes to kill bacteria. Let dishrags dry between uses and wash

Q. Rinse seafood, poultry, or

them frequently.

(continued)

Q. How cold should the interior of your refrigerator be? a. 40°F

A. Both are fine if cleaned . thoroughly ater each use, including edges as well as

b. 45°F

surfaces. Ideally, have one

c. 50°F

cutting board for meat/poultry

A. a. A constant 40°F or below

and another for other foods.

slows, but does not stop, the

growth of harmful bacteria. Avoid stuffing the refrigerator; allow for air to circulate. Q. How long is cooked food safe a. 1 b. 3 c. 5

in the refrigerator? to 2 days to 4 days to 6 days

A. b. As long as no bacteria have come into contact with the cooked leftovers, the food

is safe for 3 to 4 days. Q. To sanitize counters and cutting boards, use... a. lemon juice and salt b. dish detergent c. 1 gallon of water with 1 tablespoon of bleach d. 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of bleach

Q. It is safe to store butter at room temperature. ~ True or false?

A. True. Margarine, too. Butter may turn rancid in flavor after several days; leave out

only what you will use within 1 or 2 days. Margarine may separate, but it’s still safe.

Q. Perishable food kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours is not safe to eat. True or false?

A. True. Toss it after 2 hours. Bacteria grow rapidly in the “danger zone” (between 40° and 140°F). When the temperature is over 90°,

toss unrefrigerated food after 1 hour.

A. c. Bleach is toxic; an excess of it can be harmful. Using

Q. It is safe to thaw frozen food on the counter.

the milder solution (c), saturate

True or false?

surfaces and leave untouched for a few minutes. Rinse. Then dry with paper towels-or air.

A. False. Thaw food in

Q. Which cutting board is

Food thawed on the counter

safer, wood or plastic?

the refrigerator, under cold running water, or ina microwave, as directed.

could be in the “danger

siis/cross-contamination,

de us to a your healt! _ zone” (between 40° and

140°F), enabling bacteria to grow rapidly. Q. Hot foods should never go directly into the refrigerator. True or false?

Q. If the power goes off, food in a full refrigerator is safe for how long? a. 4 hours b. 8 hours c. 12 hours d. 16 hours

A. False. However, for quicker cooling, divide a large quantity into small, shallow container portions.

A. a. Also: Frozen food in a

Q. Marinades contain acid,

Q. Packaged food that is past

which kills bacteria, so food can be marinated on a kitchen counter. True or false?

its “sell by” date should be thrown out. True or false?

A. False. Even in an acidic marinade, bacteria can grow

rapidly at room temperature. Marinate foods safely in the refrigerator. Q. Food that falls on the floor is safe to eat after. . a. b. c. d.

5 seconds 10 seconds 1 minute none of the above

A. d. Bacteria can be transferred

_ immediately upon contact. Toss it.

full freezer is safe for 48 hours; food in a half-full freezer is

safe for 24 hours.

A. False. “Sell by” dates are used by retailers for inventory control. “Use by” (or “best by”) dates usually refer to best quality, not safety dates. While some dates indicate freshness, none reflect edibility or safety. Q. How long does canned food last? a. 6 months b. 1 year c. 2 years d. indefinitely

A. c. In general, canned food stored at 75°F and below ina

cool, dry, dark place will last at least 2 years from the date of purchase. It retains its safety and nutritional value longer,

but the food’s quality (color and texture) may vary.

Q. Which kitchen tool might save your life? a. cast-iron skillet b. food thermometer c. microwave d. electric beater A. b. As a general rule, cook

Q. Bulging or dented cans of

poultry and stuffed meats to

food are unsafe. True or false?

165°F; ground meats to 160°F; and pork, lamb, veal, fish, and whole cuts of meat to 145°F in

A. True and false. A bulging can is unsafe. A dented can is safe, unless the dent is along

the seam or it is leaking.

the thickest part. Heat cooked meats (e.g., hot dogs) until

steaming hot. Food should be held at those temperatures for at least 15 seconds to kill

any bacteria or pathogens. Q. You can partially cook food and finish cooking it later. True or false?

A. False. Partial cooking increases the risk of bacterial

growth. Q. Leftovers are safe to eat until they smell bad. True or false?

Q. When a hamburger turns brown in the middle, it is cooked to a safe internal

temperature. True or false? A. False. Visual cues do not indicate that food is properly cooked. Use a food thermometer to be sure that ground meat is at least 160°F inside.

A. False. Bacteria that cause food poisoning do not affect the look, smell, or | taste of food. Heat leftovers

to an internal temperature of 165°F. Never taste food

to check for spoilage. m After researching this piece, longtime ~ contributor Cynthia Van Hazinga purchased a lifetime supply of sponges.

Home

APOTHECARIES

1 scruple = 20 grains 1 dram = 3 scruples 1 ounce = 8 drams 1 pound = 12 ounces

1 span = 9 inches 1 foot = 12 inches 1 yard = 3 feet

1 square chain = 16 square rods 1 acre = 10 square chains

1 rod = 5% yards

CUBIC

1 mile = 320 rods = 1,760 yards =

1 cubic foot = 1,728 cubic

5,280 feet

AVOIRDUPOIS

1 ounce = 16 drams 1 pound = 16 ounces 1 hundredweight = 100 pounds 1 ton = 2,000 pounds

1 long ton = 2,240 pounds LIQUID

4 gills = 1 pint 63 gallons = | hogshead 2 hogsheads = | pipe or butt 2 pipes = 1 tun

1 international nautical mile = 6,076.1155 feet 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour : 1 fathom = 2 yards = 6 feet

1 furlong = % mile = 660 feet = 220 yards 1 league = 3 miles = 24 furlongs 1 chain = 100 links = 22 yards SQUARE

1 square foot = 144 square

inches

DRY

~

1 square yard = 9 square feet

2 pints = | quart 4 quarts = | gallon 2 gallons = | peck 4 pecks = | bushel

1 square rod = 30'/4 square yards = 272'/4 square feet 1 acre = 160 square rods = 43,560 square feet 1 square mile = 640 acres =

LINEAR

1 hand = 4 inches 1 link = 7.92 inches

102,400 square rods

inches 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet 1 cord = 128 cubic feet 1 U.S. liquid gallon = 4 quarts = 231 cubic inches 1 imperial gallon = 1.20 US. gallons = 0.16 cubic foot 1 board foot = 144 cubic inches KITCHEN

3 teaspoons = | tablespoon 16 tablespoons = 1 cup 1 cup = 8 ounces 2 cups =| pint 2 pints = | quart 4 quarts = | gallon

TO CONVERT CELSIUS AND

FAHRENHEIT:

=

°C=(F - 32)/18

PeCCK iss

1 square rod = 625 square links Metric Conversions

LINEAR

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters 1 centimeter = 0.39 inch

1 meter = 39.37 inches 1 yard = 0.914 meter 1 mile = 1.61 kilometers 1 kilometer = 0.62 mile SQUARE

1 square inch = 6.45 square centimeters 1 square yard = 0.84 square

meter

2016

1 square mile = 2.59 square kilometers 1 square kilometer = 0.386 "square mile

“4 cup = 60 mL 4 cup = 75 mL

a cup = 125 mL

7% cup = 150 mL 1 acre = 0.40 hectare | % cup = 175 mL 1 hectare = 2.47 acres lcup = 250 mL 1 liter = 1.057 U.S. liquid quarts CUBIC 1 U.S. liquid quart = 0.946 liter 1 cubic yard = 0.76 cubic meter 1 USS. liquid gallon = 3.78 liters 1 cubic meter = 1.31 cubic yards 1 gram = 0.035 ounce 1 ounce = 28.349 grams HOUSEHOLD 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds 2 teaspoon = 2 mL 1 pound = 0.45 kilogram 1 teaspoon = 5 mL 1 tablespoon = 15 mL

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

177

Home

REUSE

I use my veg peeler to slice block cheese. —Vonda-Marie O.

RENEW

| always use my vegetable peeiers to slice butter! —Tracey R.

| wash and dry eggshells and grind them with a mortar and pestle. These

I use a cheese grater for cold butter when I make dumplings, biscuits, or piecrust.

shells are great for cleaning out water bottles. | put in a few drops of soap and

a spoonful of ground shells, fill halfway with water,

—Valerie E.

then cap, shake, and swirl. The shells wash out easily. —Michelle G.

I use coffee filters to dry-clean windows after I’ve sprayed them with a mix of | part alcohol to 2 parts water.

| use a cheese grater on refrigerated butter for recipes that require “room temperature butter.

—Sherri M. ”

—Michelle G.

Whena pene hot peppers, I attach a regularmouth quart- or pint-size mason jar directly to my bullet-type blender (fits perfectly). When done,

I put a lid on the jar and store the peppers. —Lori F. 178

| put dryer sheets into the pockets of my car doors. Smells great wher the car gets hot from sitting out in the sun. One will last for a month or so. —Edward T.

Home

I wet down the car hood and use a dryer sheet to wipe off bugs.

WHAT TO DO WITH LIDS

—Lou T.-W.

We used a black plastic coffee can lid as the

center for a ceiling medallion on a chandelier. We stained the medallion dark

Stuff dryer lint inside old toilet paper tubes and

wrap with newspaper. fire starters. —Michelle G.

to cut noodles. —Ann B. | use a pizza cutter to cut up pancakes quickly. —Sarah P.

mahogany, cut a hole

I use scissors to

in the center of the lid, and centered it in the

cut bacon (while it’s still partially frozen) for fried bacon bits.

medallion before we added the fixture. It blends in perfectly.

Twist each end for free

I use my pizza cutter

—Sandy O.

—Marianne B. Put the lid of a big butter tub under your plunger to avoid drips and water stains on the floor. —Penny J.

Use dryer lint covered in Vaseline for fire starters. —Roxanne F. | use an old dryer drum for my compost. | painted it and I love it. —Heather F.

Put a butter container lid on top of your tea cup to keep it hot.

I used an old washer drum for a print washer in my dark room.

—Marie B.

CUTUPS |

ortecmmorcrenccrssescerscscserstssce

—Anonymous

| am using an old

To make a gnat hat for gardening, | cut a _ doughnut out of a flattened cereal box,

washer drum to house my worm farm! —Richard K.

punch holes around half, and tie sections

4

Butter knife = screwdriver! —Nora O.

For touch-ups, I use an old soup ladle to dip a small amount of paint out of a 5-gallon bucket. —Deborah S. My dad uses a farrier’s tool for cleaning out hooves to grasp old-fashioned storm windows and lower them

for cleaning. He also uses an old, heavy-duty ice cream scoop as a lever to help him raise stuck windows. —Regena L. M

of kite string or ribbon to the holes. —Kim C. K.

(continued )

179

STORE MORE I use a plate draining rack to store all of my big glass lids, cake plates, and such vertically in my pantry. I use a letter holder for plastic lids and plates. —Heather B.

Stuff plastic bagsfrom the store into paper

towel tubes. —Teresa C.-G.

I use a potato masher instead of a mixing hook to mix bread.

Use a water glass for cutting biscuits. —Joan M. I use a clean mesh

paint strainer to rinse quinoa. —Elizabeth W. 180

| use cheap pillowcases to strain my fruit

when making jellies. —Monica C.

The inside of a sugar bag makes a great substitute for paper toweling when you fry something and need a grease “soaker upper.” —Martha C. | use the plastic tops from soda bottles and milk containers to scrub dried food on pots and pans. —Chris O. G.

Use an old credit card to scrape the top of a glass-top range. —Marlene G.

We tie twine or dental floss around lint and hang it in trees for birds to use as nesting material. —Libby G. M. Put a bar of soap into a long sock. Tie to your spigot for easy hand-washing outdoors. —Tammy L. P.

My husband punches holes in tuna cans and puts them under the feet of our lawn furniture to stop them from sinking into the ground. —Marcia C.

I use soda can rings to attach together the metal hangers of paired clothes. This saves closet space as well as lets my little one have complete and matched outfits. —Kristi A. M. When | get a few soap slivers, |add a few ingredients (scent, color, oatmeal, etc.) and put them into a plastic container that | have sprayed with cooking

spray. | microwave it for a few seconds, stir, and — microwave a few more seconds. New soap! —Jessica H. @

Home

Mayonnaise Magic Did you know that the mayonnaise you put on your sandwiches and in potato salad can be used around the house? It’s true! ; thick coating of mayonnaise. Wait a : few minutes. Use a clean cloth to wipe : off the mayonnaise and residue. ! ™ Oops! Crayon marks on wooden

i. Strengthen your nails with a mayo : : : manicure! Put a few spoonfuls of

furniture? Mayo will make them dis- : payonnaise into a small bowl. Plunge appear. Using a clean rag or finger,.: your fingernails into it and keep them tub a dab of mayo on the spot. Wait = there for 5 minutes. Wash with warm a minute or two, then wipe with a

Water

damp cloth. @ Don’t let road tar on your bike or car slow you down. Spread a dab of : mayo over the tar. Wait a few min- : utes, then wipe with a clean rag.

@ To remove a tight ring on your fin: ger, cover the finger with mayonnaise : and then gently pull the ring off.

: @ Your child has gum in his/her hair?

: Rub mayonnaise on the gum. Wait ‘ a few minutes. Then wipe the gum : away and wash the hair as usual. : @ Oh, no! Head lice! Before go: ing to bed, wash the hair and towel @ Suffer no more from sunburn! A bit : dry. Then apply mayonnaise all over of mayo smoothed over the affected : the hair and scalp. (It must be real area will help to relieve the pain and : mayonnaise, not light or fat-free or moisturize your skin. : salad dressing.) Cover the head with : a tight-fitting shower cap and keep @ When stubborn stickers won’t come : it on overnight. The next morning, unstuck, try this trick: Scrape off as : rinse the hair with warm water and much of the sticker as you can. Then ; comb with a lice comb. Repeat this cover any remaining residue with a : process for several days. 2016

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

181

Folklore

SANDALS,

Beg

E PUT THEM ON EVERY

morning and take them off every night. But what do we really know about shoes? Tromp through time and tradition to find out. The bones in our feet are more delicate than those of human beings who lived 26,000 years ago. Paleontologists conclude that with the additional support shoes gave our feet, our foot bones became weaker. “The simple act of wearing shoes alters the structure of our feet,”

according to Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Ina Missouri cave, archaeologists found dozens of shoes made from the fibers of a tough plant called rattlesnake master. They are believed to be about 8,000 years old. No two are exactly alike. “It’s human nature to make one pair a little more complex than others, to set it apart from someone else’s,” textile expert Jenna Ted-

rick Kuttruff told National Geographic. Shoes make heroes of men. Ancient Romans toughened Greek sandals by adding 182

metal tacks to the soles, and their legions conquered the known world. When Neil Armstrong took his famous “one small step for [a] man” onto the surface of the Moon, he was wearing $30,000 high-tech boots. (They’re still there: To save weight for the return to Earth, the Apollo astronauts abandoned their shoes.)

In literature and folktales, shoes give wearers miraculous powers. Sevenleague boots cover 21 miles with each stride; the ruby slippers that Dorothy wears in the film The Wizard of Oz (they are silver in the original L. Frank Baum book) take her home if she clicks the heels together and says, “There’s no

place like home”’; a pair of glass slippers makes Cinderella a princess. Shoes can cause pain and suffering. In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Red Shoes,” a vain girl has her feet cut off because of a pair of shoes with a life of their own. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,

nearly 7 million Americans saw a doctor

Folklore

iS

im

A step-by-step examination offootwear

history, customs, and beliefs BY TIM CLARK

PERSTITIONS for foot and toe pain in 2009, mostly due to ill-fitting shoes.

Wear at the toe, live to see woe; Wear at the side, live to be a bride; Wear at the ball, live to spend all; Wear at the heel, live to save a deal. —Old rhyme

@ African-American lore says that to drive away bad business, you should get a shoe from the oldest woman you can find, take it to your place of business, and burn it to a crisp. @ In Poona, India, the victim of a curse

can escape it by taking hold of an upturned shoe.

@ English boatmen consider shoes taken from a dead man’s feet to be especially lucky.

Every culture on Earth has sayings like the one above. In 2008, I. Marc Carlson

compiled hundreds of “shoe-perstitions.” HOW

WITH

TO

BE

GOOD

IN

STEP

LUCK

# In England, shoes are thrown after some-

one who is leaving on a journey. This is the origin of the modern custom of tying shoes to the back of a newlywed couple’s car. # Also in England, a woman who wishes to conceive a child is told to try on the shoes of a woman who has just given birth.

HOW TO BE A OR HAVE BAD

HEEL, LUCK

® In Bengal, India, if you leave shoes lying on their uppers, you will quarrel with someone that day. @ In Germany, a woman who goes with-

out shoes during the 6 weeks following childbirth causes her child to take a dan-

gerous fall while learning to walk. @ Hawaiians believe that to wear shoes in a house is to invite the devil to come in. @ In the Ozark Mountains of the United 183

Folklore

HUMAN HISTORY IS THE HISTORY OF SROES —Stebby Julionatan, Indonesian writer (b. 1983)

States, it’s bad luck to put the left shoe

-FOOTLOOSE

FANS

Greek philosopher Socrates did it; John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman did it; so did Abraham Lincoln as a boy, dancer Isadora Duncan, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia did it and won the Olympic Marathon on September 10, 1960, in record time. They all did what folks have been doing for centuries: went barefoot. And it’s a practice that thousands of people are taking in stride today. Barefoot hikers tread trails all over North America. Joggers run barefoot or in minimal footwear. In Europe, barefoot parks invite walkers onto man-made trails to feel textures such as those of moss, sand, and logs. Park routes can range from very short to more than 3 miles, and people of all ages participate. Opponents of bare feet cite the risk of Achilles tendonitis or bone injury, among other possible ill effects. Barefoot proponents claim heightened awareness of their surroundings, increased muscle strength, and overall comfort— not to mention never having to worry about “walking in someone else’s shoes.” —Darren Richardson

on first or to put shoes on a table or bed, #@ Jews in Minsk, Belarus, say that to walk in one shoe will cause a parent to die.

inne pay

“Who are you?” said the stocking

to the shoe. Said the shoe to the stocking, “How terribly shocking, For such as you to say to a shoe, ‘Who are you?’” —Ange Fagnano

In many parts of the Middle East, it is an insult to reveal the soles of your shoes. Ancient Egyptians drew the faces of their enemies on the soles of their shoes so that they could walk on them. After the First Gulf War, a hotel in Baghdad

featured a mosaic portraying President George H. W. Bush on the lobby floor for the same reason.

Some folk beliefs about shoes remain mysterious. For example, nobody knows why thousands of shoes, some dating back to Roman times, have been found hidden in walls, ceilings, floors, and fire-

places in Europe and North America. “Why the shoe? It is the only garment we wear that retains the shape, the personality, the essence of the wearer,” not-

ed June Swann, an English shoe expert who started tracking concealed shoes in 1958, when she first learned of a pair

Folklore

of children’s ankle boots that had been found in a thatched roof. Shoes. were expensive, and, until recently in human history, they were repaired or reused far more often than replaced. “T worried about that pair of boots for

and dangling from telephone and electric wires. Many reasons have been suggested, from bullying to gang signals or memorials to teens marking transitions in their lives such as graduation or sexual ini-

a long time,” Swann told National Geo-

it’s said, of painting combat boots yellow or orange and tossing them over wires when leaving a post or the service itself. It could also be what some call a “meme’’—a practice that spreads in a society simply because others do it. But June Swann has a simpler explanation: “We should remember the urge of ordinary people to leave a mark of their existence in the world.” In one man’s dusty old

graphic. “What parent would let a child play on a thatched roof? Why would they allow a good pair of shoes to be left behind?” She decided that shoes were not left behind by mistake after finding an adult shoe plastered into a wall in Devon, England. “It could not have been plastered over by accident,” she said. “Obviously, care was involved.” Swann has never proven to her own satisfaction why people hid shoes in houses. She believes that it is superstition and that it might have been a charm against witches or evil spirits. There is now a modern shoe mystery. All over the world, sneakers and run-

ning shoes can be found laced together

SOLE

tiation. There’s a custom among soldiers,

boot, hidden in a wall, she found a piece of

wallpaper with a penciled inscription: William Chapman B 3d July 1828 this was don in 1876

re

Tim Clark, who always puts on his left shoe first, has been writing about folklore for the Almanac for more than 30 years.

MATES

THEN... In the 2nd century a.p., Greek writer and philosopher Plutarch related in his biographical Lives the story of a Roman who, in response to friends who demanded to know why he had divorced his wife without apparent cause, says, “No one of you can tell me where [my shoe] pinches my foot.” NOW

eee

At Kentucky’s Murray State University, if two students fall in love and then marry, each nails a shoe to the “shoe tree” outside Pogue Library. They often return to nail a baby shoe to the tree, which has become little more than a tall stump.

Photo: courtesy of Murray State University

185

What it means: When

CAMPBELL’S LAW

: the consequences | : of failure are significant, : people cheat.

f a

DUNBAR’S NUMBER

Campbell (1976) soem What it says: The more weight given to one

From: English : anthropologist Robin : high-stakes testing in U.S. : Dunbar (1992) $ SCHOOIS has resulted in — : What it says: The size _—:_~widespread cheating by : the teachers and adminis- : of the human brain limits

element in a complex

: trators who have the most : the

problem of social policy, the more likely that element will be corrupted.

: to lose (such as their : jobs) as a result of poor : student performance.

From: American social

pital Tiigie ni=

psychologist Donald T.

: Example: The use of

186

number of stable

: relationships that one : human being can : maintain to about 150.

Amusement

What it means: A person : can have about 150 : good friends at one time.

: people overestimate : their skills.

: Example: Kruger and

ready to do you another : than he whom you

yourself have obliged.”

: Dunning were inspired by:

: a bank robber who knew : that lemon juice can be : used as “invisible ink” : (the message can be

: read only after heating : the paper). The thief

: rubbed it all over his : face, believing it would : make him invisible to : security cameras.

: Example: The number : roughly matches the : average size of villages, : tribes, and military : units all over the world.

: What it means: It’s : easier to make a friend

by asking for a favor than by doing one. : Example: “Having heard : that [another legislator]

: had in his library a certain : very scarce and curious : book, | wrote a note : to him, expressing my

: From: American social

: psychologists David : Dunning and Justin : Kruger (1999)

: What it says: In : Dunning’s words, “If > you’re incompetent,

: you can’t know you're

: incompetent.” What it means: Inept

: desire of perusing that

FRANKLIN EFFECT

: book, and requesting he

: would do me the favour : of lending it to me fora : From: The Autobiography : few days. He sent it : immediately, and |. : of Benjamin Franklin : return’d it in abouta C1799) - : week with another note, What it says: “He that : expressing strongly my : has once done you a : sense of the favour. When : kindness will be more : we next met in the House,

187

Amusement

A centipede was happy— he spoke to me (which he quite! had never done before), Until a toad in fun and with great civility; and : Said, “Pray, which leg he ever after manifested moves after which?” a readiness to serve me This raised her doubts on all occasions.” to such a pitch,

:.She fell exhausted in HUMPHREY'S LAW |

the ditch, Not knowing how to run.

From: English psychologist | What it says: Paying too close attention to a normally automatic or unconscious activity hampers your ability to do it well. What it means: Don’t

_

-MARCHETTI’S CONSTANT

means) will spend as

: much time getting to work

: as he orshe did driving.

: From: Italian physicist

: Cesare Marchetti (1994) : What it says: In all : places throughout history, :

THE PARETO

PRINCIPLE

: the average time that the : From: Italian economist : average human being : Vilfredo Pareto (1906) : takes to travel to and : from work each day is What it says: 80 percent : 1 hour, regardless of the form of transportation.

: Of the effect comes from

: 20 percent of the causes.

: What it means: As roads : and mass transit are

: What it means: 80

: improved, people

: percent of a company’s

: sales come from 20 : percent of the sales force; : 80 percent of complaints : come from 20 percent : Example: A person : of customers; 80 percent : who moves close to the Example: Humphrey : workplace in order to give : of crimes are committed illustrated this with “The : by 20 percent of Centipede’s Dilemma” by : up a car (to walk, bike, : Criminals; and so forth. or commute by other Katherine Craster (1871): : will choose to live farther : away from their jobs.

188

Amusement

Example: In 1992, the : United Nations reported : that the richest20 percent of the world’s population

: controlled 82.7 percent : of the world’s income.

From: Russian : psychologist Bluma : Zeigarnik (1927)

SAYRE'SLAW

/ = What it says: We are : more likely to remember

From: American political : Scientist Wallace Stanley

: incomplete or interrupted

: tasks than those that we : have finished.

Sayre (1973)

: What it says: “Academic : politics is the most : vicious and bitter form : Of politics, because the

: Stakes are so low.” _ What it means: The less

: important the issue, the

: From: American statistics: : professor Stephen Stigler : (1980)

: more emotional the debate. :

What it says: No : discovery is ever named : after its discoverer. What it means: The

: credit for important : findings often goes to

: Example: America is

:What it means: Cramming : for a test is ineffective.

Example: Students : studying foranexam : remember the material : better if they take breaks

: Example: In any New

: named after Amerigo

: England town meeting, : there is likely to be more

: Vespucci (not Christopher. : to do other things or : study other subjects. : Columbus), and Stigler

: impassioned debate

: himself attributes

: over spending $100 than

: on spending $100,000.

Stigler’s Law to sociologist :: “Tf N. D.a factBloom's personal law has no practical valRobert K. Merton.

: ue, I know it. And vice versa.”

189

Weather

Weather Phobias FEAR OF

PHOBIA

: Clouds oo

Cold

190

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com/Weather.

-

20

Weather

and historical weather conditions with current solar activity. Our forecasts emphasize temperature and precipitation deviations from averages, or normals. These are based on 30-year statistical averages prepared by government meteorological agencies and updated every 10 years. The most-recent tabulations span the

e derive our weather forecasts from a secret formula that was devised by the founder of this Almanac, Robert B. Thomas,

in

1792.

Thomas

believed

that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic

storms on the surface of the Sun. Over the years, we have refined and enhanced that formula with stateof-the-art technology and modern scientific calculations. We employ

period 1981 through 2010. We believe that nothing in the universe happens haphazardly, that there is a cause-and-effect pattern to all phenomena. However, although neither we nor any other forecasters have as yet gained sufficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict the weather with total accuracy, our results are almost always very close to our traditional claim of 80 percent.

three scientific disciplines to make our long-range predictions: solar science, the study of sunspots and other solar activity; climatology, the study

of prevailing weather patterns; and meteorology, the study of the atmosphere. We predict weather trends and events by comparing solar patterns

2

Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius -40

-20

oO

37

20

60

80

100

°CELSIUS ° FAHRENHEIT

2016

-40

oO

32

80

98.6 Body temperature

Water freezes

160

212 Water boils

Convert Inches to Centimeters

3

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

4

8

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

9

10 191

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2016

Get your local a forecast at Almanac com/Weather

19 2

SUMMARY: Winter temperatures will be above normal, on average, with the coldest periods in early and late January and other cold periods in early and mid-December, mid-January, and mid- and late February. Precipitation and snowfall will be below normal, with the snowiest periods in early and mid-December and mid- and late January. April and May will be a bit warmer than normal, with below-normal precipitation. Summer will be slightly warmer than normal, on average, with the hottest periods in late July and early August. Rainfall will be below normal despite several threats from the remnants of tropical storms in July, August, and early to mid-September. September and October will be warmer and much rainier than normal. NOV. 2015: Temp. 4°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 135mm (50mm. below avg. north, 60mm above south). 1-5 Sunny, turning mild. 6-10 Rain, heavy north, mild. 11-14 Showers, cool. 15—22 Heavy

then showers, mild. 8-12 Showers, mild north; rain to snow, cold south. 13-21

Heavy rain, then showers, cool. 22-30 Rain, then showers, cool.

MAY 2016: Temp. 8.5°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 80mm (40mm below avg.). 1-6 Scattered showers, seasonable. 7—14 Rainy periods, then sunny, warm. 15—21 Scattered showers, seasonable. 22-31 A few showers; warm, then cool. JUNE 2016: Temp. 14°C (0.5°C below avg.); precip. 50mm (40mm below ayg.). 1-8 Showers, cool. 9-14 Sunny, warm. 15-23 A few showers,

rain, then showers, mild. 23—27

Rain and snow showers. 28-30 Rain to snow, turning cold. DEC. 2015: Temp. —-4°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 110mm - (20mm below avg.). 1-7 Snowstorm,

then

flurries,

é ‘

cold. 8-10 Snowy periods. Saint Joh 11-17 Heavy rain to snow, then snowy periods, cold. 18-22 Stormy; heavy rain, mild north; heavy snow

south. 23—31

turning cool. 24-30 Rain, then sunny, nice.

Rain and

JULY 2016: Temp. 19°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 95mm (60mm above avg. north, 50mm

snow showers, turning mild. JAN. 2016: Temp. —5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 80mm (20mm below avg.). 1-9 Snow showers, turning frigid. 10-13 Snowstorm north,

below

south).

1—2 Tropical

storm

threat.

3—7

Showers, cool. 8-10 Tropical storm threat. | 1— 17 Showers, then sunny, warm. 18—28 Scattered showers, turning very warm. 29-31 Rainy, cool.

flurries south; cold. 14-19 Snowstorm, then flur-

ries, mild. 20-23 Snowstorm, then flurries, cold. 24—29 Snowstorm, then sunny, very cold. 30-31

AUG. 2016: Temp. 18.5°C (0.5°C above avg.);

Snow to rain, turning mild.

precip. 55mm

FEB. 2016: Temp. —1.5°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 40mm (50mm below avg.). 1-6 Snow to

hot. 6-12 Showers, some heavy, turning cool. 13-16 Tropical storm threat. 17-20 Sunny, cool. 21—23 Tropical storm threat. 24—31 Scat-

rain, then showers, mild. 7-16 Heavy rain, then snow showers, cold. 17—20 Snow, then flurries, cold. 21-25 Rain, then sunny, cold. 26—29 Rain

(40mm below avg.). 1—5 Sunny,

tered showers, cool.

to snow, then flurries, cold.

SEPT. 2016: Temp. 15°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 160mm (50mm above avg.). 1-5 Showers, turning

MAR. 2016: Temp. -0.5°C (1.5°C above avg.);

warm. 6-9 Tropical storm threat. 10-17 Scattered

precip. 70mm (20mm below ayg.). 1-6 Periods

showers, mild. 18-30 A few showers, cool. OCT. 2016: Temp. 10.5°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 170mm (50mm above avg.). 1-3 Showers,

of rain and snow, mild. 7-11 Showers, mild. 12-16 Rain to snow. 17-22 Snowy periods, cold. 23-31 Rain and snow, then showers, mild.

cool. 4-10 Heavy rain, then sunny, mild.

APR. 2016: Temp. 5°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 120mm (20mm above avg.). 1-7 Rain to snow, re >

190

NOV.

2 Se i

&

i

-2°C

2016

DEC.

JAN.

FEB.

MAR.

M4 Z

11-15

Rain and snow showers, cold. 16-21 Showers, turning mild. 22—31 Sunny, then showers, mild.

APR.

Y,

'

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG.

SEPT. y

OCT. %

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THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

50m

193

sa

Region

Forecast

SUMMARY: Winter will be warmer and wetter than normal in the east and colder and drier than normal in the west. The coldest periods will be in mid-December, the first half of January, and mid- to late January. Snowfall will be near to below normal, with the snowiest periods in late November, throughout December,

mid- and late January, and throughout February. April and May will be slightly drier than normal, with temperatures above normal in the east and below normal in the west. Summer will be warmer than normal, with the hottest temperatures in mid-June, late July, and early and late August. Rainfall will be above normal in the east and below normal in the west. September and October will be warmer than normal, with near-normal precipitation. NOV. 2015: Temp. 2°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 60mm (20mm below avg.). 1-3 Sunny, cool. 4~7 Rainy, mild. 8-13 Rain east, snow west, then sunny, turning mild. 14-17 Showers, mild. 18—21 Flurries, cold. 22-27 Snow to rain, then sunny, mild. 28-30 Snowstorm, cold. DEC. 2015: Temp. —9°C (2°C below avg.); precip. 95mm (50mm ee a oy above avg. east, 20mm _ below west).

west

14

Flurries

cold.

11-15

flurries, very cold.

30 Rainy periods.

MAY 2016: Temp. 13.5°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 85mm (20mm above avg.). 1-5 Sunny, warm. 6-14 Showers, warm. 15-21 A few showers, turning cool. 22-26 Sunny, cool. 27-31 Showers, cool.

east, snowstorm

and central; cold. 5-10

showers,

avg.). 1-6 Rain and snow showers, cool. 7-14 Rain and snow, then sunny, turning mild. 15-21 Periods of rain and snow, then sunny, mild. 22—26. Showers, cool. 27—

16-20

JUNE

Snow

Snowstorm,

Snowy

2016: Temp.

avg.); precip.

then

periods,

110mm

19°C (1°C above

(20mm

above

avg.).

Blizzard east, rain to snow west.

1—10 Showers, then sunny, nice. 11-17 A few showers, very warm. 18-23 Showers, cool. 24— 30 Scattered showers, warm.

JAN. 2016: Temp. —12.5°C (2°C below avg.);

JULY 2016: Temp. 21°C (1°C above avg.); pre-

precip. 35mm (40mm below avg.). 1-7 Snow showers, turning very cold. 8-12 Snow, then flurries, very cold. 13-18 Snow, then flurries, turning mild. 19-23 Snowstorm, then sunny, very cold. 24-29 Snowstorm, then flurries, very cold. 30-31 Snowstorm, milder. FEB. 2016: Temp. —7.5°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 100mm (40mm above avg.). 1-5 Snowstorm, then flurries. 6-11 Snowstorm, then flurries, cold. 12-16 Snowstorm, then flurries, milder. 17-20 Snowstorm, then flurries, mild. 21—25 Snow, then flurries, cold. 26-29 Snowstorm. MAR. 2016: Temp. —4°C (3°C above avg. east, 3°C below west); precip. 50mm (25mm below

cip. 120mm (40mm above avg. east, avg. west). 1-6 Isolated showers, turning cool. 7-14 Scat-

cold. 21-28 Snow showers, turning mild. 29-31

avg.). 1-7 Snow, then flurries, cold. 8—16 Snow showers; mild east, cold west. 17—26 Flurries,

cold, 27-31 Snow, then sunny, cold. 2°C below west); precip. 40mm (25mm below

DEC.

JAN.

FEB.

MAR.

APR.

Scattered

ra

showers,

warm.

6-13

T-storms,

then showers,

turning cool. 14-22 Rain, then sunny, nice. 23— 27 Rainy, cool east; sunny, warm Showers, mild.

west. 28-30

OCT. 2016: Temp. 10°C (2°C above avg.); pre(10mm

above avg.). 1-8 Showers,

mild. 9-15 Sunny, mild, 16-25 Showers, then sunny, mild. 26-31 Showers, mild.

MAY

JUNE JULY

AUG. SEPT.

meelormal

WB TEMPERATURE

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com/Weather.

S

OCT.

Tol TM |lelele| IHIL n ro dl FB ° + ine) i?)

194

showers;

AUG. 2016: Temp. 19°C (avg.); precip. 50mm (50mm below avg.). 1-8 A few t-storms; hot, then warm. 9-13 Showers, cool east; sunny, hot west. 14-24 A few t-storms, cool. 25—29 Sunny, very warm. 30-31 T-storms, warm. SEPT. 2016: Temp. 16°C (2°C above avg.): precip. 80mm (10mm below avg.). 1—5 Scattered

cip. 90mm

APR. 2016: Temp. 4.5°C (2°C above avg. east, NOV.

tered t-storms, cool. 15-31 warm east, cool west.

+50mm 3

Normal

—50mm NOILWLId

2016

RESUME: Lhiver sera plus chaud et plus humide que la normale a |'est et plus froid et plus sec que la normale a l'ouest. Les périodes les plus froides seront la mi-décembre, la premiére moitié de janvier, et mi

a fin janvier. Les chutes de neige seront proches a en-dessous de la normale, les périodes aux plus fortes chutes de neige étant fin novembre, tout le mois de décembre, mi a fin janvier, et tout le mois de février. Avril et mai seront légérement plus secs que la normale, avec des températures au-dessus de la normale dans |’est et en-dessous de la normale dans |'ouest.

L’été sera plus chaud que la normale, avec les températures les plus chaudes a la mi-juin, fin juillet, et début et fin aot. Les précipitations seront au-dessus de la normale dans I'est et en-dessous de la normale dans |’ouest.

Septembre et octobre seront plus chauds que la normale, avec des précipitations proches de la normale. NOV. 2015: Temp. 2°C (2°C au-dessus de la

ensoleillé, avec radoucissement.

moy.); précip: 60mm

de pluie et neige, puis ensoleillé, doux. 22-26 Averses, froid. 27-30 Périodes pluvieuses.

(20mm en-dessous de la

moy.). 1-3 Ensoleillé, froid. 4~7 Pluvieux, doux.

15—21 Périodes

8-13 Pluie a l’est, neige a l’ouest, puis ensoleillé, avec radoucissement. 14-17 Averses, doux. 18-21 Rafales, froid. 22-27 Neige a pluie, puis

ensoleillé, doux. 28-30 Tempéte de neige, froid.

DEC. 2015: Temp. —9°C (2°C en-dessous de la moy.); précip. 95mm (50mm au-dessus de la moy. a l’est, 20mm en-dessous a l’ouest).

1-4 Rafales 4 l’est, tempéte de neige a |’ouest et au centre; froid. S—10 Chutes de neige, froid.

11-15 Tempéte de neige, puis rafales, trés froid. 16-20 Périodes de neige, froid. 21-28 Chutes de neige, avec radoucissement. 29-31 Blizzard a Vest, pluie a neige a |’ ouest.

JANV. 2016: Temp. —12,5°C (2°C en-dessous de la moy.); précip. 35mm (40mm en-dessous de la moy.). 1-7 Chutes de neige, avec fort refroidissement. 8-12 Neige, puis rafales, trés froid. 13-18 Neige, puis rafales, avec radoucissement. 19-23 Tempéte de neige, puis ensoleillé, trés froid. 24-29 Tempéte de neige, puis rafales, trés

froid. 30-31 Tempéte de neige, plus doux. FEV. 2016: Temp. —7,5°C (2°C au-dessus de la moy.); précip. 100mm (40mm au-dessus de la moy.). 1-5 Tempéte de neige, puis rafales. 6-11

Tempéte de neige, puis rafales, froid. 12-16 Tempéte de neige, puis rafales, plus doux. 17-20 Tempéte de neige, puis rafales, doux. 21-25 Neige, puis rafales, froid. 26-29 Tempéte de neige. MARS 2016: Temp. —4°C (3°C au-dessus de la moy. a l’est, 3°C en-dessous a l’ouest); précip. 50mm (25mm en-dessous de la moy.). 1-7 Neige, puis rafales, froid. 8-16 Chutes de neige; doux a lest, froid 4 1’ouest. 17-26 Rafales, froid.

MAI 2016: Temp. 13,5°C (1°C au-dessus de la moy.); précip. 85mm (20mm au-dessus de la moy.). 1-5 Ensoleillé, chaud. 6-14 Averses, chaud. 15-21 Quelques averses, avec refroidissement. 22—26 Ensoleillé, froid. 27-31 Averses, froid. JUIN 2016: Temp. 19°C: (1°C au-dessus de la moy.); précip.

110mm

(20mm

au-dessus

de la

moy.). 1-10 Averses, puis ensoleillé, agréable. 11-17

Quelques

averses,

trés

chaud.

18—23

Averses, froid. 24-30 Averses éparses, chaud. JUIL. 2016: Temp. 21°C (1°C au-dessus de la moy.); précip. 120mm (40mm au-dessus de la moy. a l’est, moyenne 4 l’ouest). 1-6 Averses isolées,

avec

épars, froid.

refroidissement.

15-31

Averses

7-14

Orages

éparses; chaud

a

lest, froid a |’ ouest.

AOUT 2016: Temp. 19°C (moy.); précip. 50mm (50mm en-dessous de lamoy.). 1-8 Quelques orages; tres chaud, puis chaud. 9-13 Averses, froid a lest; ensoleillé, tres chaud 4 l’ouest. 14-24 Quelques orages, froid. 25—29 Ensoleillé, trés chaud. 30-31 Orages, chaud.

SEPT. 2016: Temp. 16°C (2°C au-dessus de -la moy.); précip. 80mm (10mm en-dessous de la moy.). 1-5 Averses éparses, chaud. 6—13 Orages, puis averses, avec refroidissement. 14-22 Pluie, puis ensoleillé, agréable. 23-27 Pluvieux, froid a l’est; ensoleillé, chaud a |’ouest. 28-30 Averses, doux.

27-31 Neige, puis ensoleillé, froid.

OCT. 2016: Temp.

AVR. 2016: Temp. 4,5°C (2°C au-dessus de la

la moy.); précip. 90mm

moy. a l’est, 2°C en-dessous 4 l’ouest); précip. 40mm (25mm en-dessous de la moy.). 1-6 Pluie

la moy.).

doux. 16—25 Averses, puis ensoleillé, doux. 26—

et chutes de neige, froid. 7-14 Pluie et neige, puis

31 Averses, doux.

2016

10°C (2°C au-dessus de

1-8 Averses,

(10mm doux.

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

au-dessus de

9-15

Ensoleillé,

195

za

Forecast

SUMMARY: Winter will be colder than normal, with near- to slightly below-normal precipitation and belownormal snowfall. The coldest period will be from late December through early February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-November, early December, early and late January, mid-February, and mid-March. April and May will be slightly cooler than normal, with above-normal rainfall. Summer will be warmer and slightly drier than normal, with the hottest temperatures in early to midand mid- to late June and early and late August. September and October will be much warmer and somewhat drier than normal. NOV.

1

2015:

Temp.

i

3°C

mild. 6-9 Showers, cool. 10—15 Scat-

(avg.); precip. 90mm (40mm

_tered showers, mild. 16-25 A few

above avg. east, 30mm _ below west). 1-2 Sunny. 3-6 Showers, mild east; snow

_ showers, cool. 26-30 Sunny, nice. “gee ee

lsag_~west. 7—11 Snow showers, cold.

A T

E-)

12-20 —20 RaiRain to snow, then snow showers, cold. 21-27 Showers, mild east; periods of rain and snow elsewhere. 28-30 Snowy, cold.

H E

DEC. 2015: Temp. —5°C (1°C below avg.); pre-

R

cip. 20mm

(20mm

below

avg.).

1-3

Rain

,

°

Pike, aie

above Generally Sunny: avg.). (tan14 See ; ge “4 Eth : CTE BON CR ra warm. 11—21 Isolated showers, cool. 22~25 Sunny, cool.

.

east,

snowstorm central and west. 4-10 Snowy periods;

.

PIVelp»

26-31

Showers, turning warm.

:

a

2

‘

cold east, turning mild west. 11-21 Snowy periods,

JUNE 2016: Temp. 19.5°C (2°C above avg.);

cold. 22-26 Sunny, cold east; snow showers, mild

Precip. 90mm (10mm above avg.). 1-5 Scattered

west: 27-31 Snow showers: mild: then cold.

showers, cool. 6-13 Isolated showers, turning

2 3 hot. 14-18 T-storms, then sunny, cool. 19-24 JAN. 2016: Temp. —12°C (3°C below avg.); — Isolated showers, turning hot. 25-30 Scattered precip.

20mm

(20mm

below

avg.).

1-3

Flur-

t-storms, warm.

ries, cold east; snowy, mild west. 4-14 Snow

showers, cold. 15—20 Flurries, mild east; snowy

i

‘

"

;

JULY 2016: Temp. 19.5°C (1°C below avg.);

periods, mild central; flurries, cold west. 21-27

Precip. 75mm (5mm below avg.). 1-10 Isolated

snowstorm west; turning mild.

cool. 20-31 T-storms, then sunny, nice.

Flurries, very cold. 28-31

Snow

to rain east,

Storms, turning cool. 11-19 Scattered showers,

FEB. 2016: Temp. —7°C (1°C above avg.); preAUG. 2016: Temp. 20.5°C (1°C above avg.); cip. 65mm (20mm above avg.). 1-7 Snow show- _ Precip. 75mm (10mm below avg.). 1-3 Sunny,

ers, turning very cold. 8-10 Flurries, mild. 1119 Snowstorm, then flurries east; flurries west; mild. 20-26 Snow, then flurries, cold. 27-29

hot. 4-7 T-storms, then sunny, nice. 8-12T-

_ Storms, then sunny, cool. 13-21 Showers, turning cool. 22-28 Sunny, warm. 29-31 T-storms, hot.

Snow showers, mild.

SEPT. 2016: Temp. 16.5°C (2°C above avg.);

MAR. 2016: Temp. —5°C (2°C below avg.); precip. 55mm (20mm below avg. east, 30mm above west). 1-5 Snowy east, sunny west; cold. 6-13 Rain and snow showers. 14-19 Snow, then

precip. 50mm (40mm below avg.). 1-9 A few showers, warm. 10—20 Scattered showers, cool. 21-26 T-storms, then sunny, warm. 27—30 Showers, turning cool.

sunny, cold. 20-25

OCT.

2

:

Flurries, east, snowy

west;

chilly. 26-31 Rain and snow, then sunny, cool. APR. 2016: Temp. 4°C (1°C below avg.); precip.

| Several showers, warm. 20-24 Sunny, warm.

75mm (avg. east, 50mm above west). 1-5 Sunny, ae

NOV.

DEC.

JAN.

FEB,

MAR.

APR.

°, ° : is F 2016: - Tem p. 13°C (4°C above avg.); pre-

cin, 65mm (avg.). 1-6 A few showers, cool. 7-19 25-31 Showers, then flurries, turning cold. MAY

JUNE

JULY

2

om

Perl meel-4°C Se g Normal

196

|=?)

APAWARAL

AUG. SEPT.

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com/Weather.

OCT.

Z

ns

alee:

Z

40mm 2

(2)

Normal 3

2016

Forecast

SUMMARY: Winter temperatures will be colder than normal, with the coldest periods in mid-December, throughout January, and mid-February. Precipitation will be below normal in Alberta and above normal in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Snowfall will be below normal in most of the Prairies but above normal in the Calgary region, with the snowiest periods in late November, mid-December, and late March. _ April and May will be warmer and slightly drier than normal. Summer will be slightly hotter and drier than normal, with the hottest periods in late July and early and mid-August. September and October will be drier than normal, with temperatures slightly cooler than normal. NOV. (2°C

2015: below

Temp. avg.);

—5°C

MAY 2016: Temp. 11°C

precip.

(1°C above avg.); pre-

25mm (Smm above avg.). 1-5 Sunny, mild. 6-17 Snow showers, cold. 18-22 Flurries; mild, then cold east; very cold west. 23—

31 Snow, then flurries, very cold. DEC. 2015: Temp. —12°C (3°C below avg.); precip. 15mm (5mm below avg.). 1-3 Sunny, cold.

4-9

Flurries;

mild,

then

cold.

10-16

Snow, then snow showers, very cold. 17-25 Sunny, turning mild. 26-31 Snow showers; cold, then mild.

:

JAN. 2016: Temp. —18°C (5°C below avg.); precip. 10mm (10mm below ayg.). 1-9 Snowy periods, bitter cold. 10-20 Snow showers; mild, then bitter cold. 21-25 Snowy periods; mild, then very cold. 26-31 Snow showers; mild, _ then very cold.

FEB. 2016: Temp. —10°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 25mm (10mm above avg.). 1-10 A few flurries, turning quite mild. 11—19 Flurries; cold, - then mild. 20-23 Flurries; mild east, cold west. 24-29 Flurries, cold.

MAR. 2016: Temp. —3°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 30mm (30mm above avg. east, 10mm below west). 1-4 Flurries, turning mild. 5-14 Sunny, then snow showers; mild east, cold west. 15-23 Snow showers, cold. 24-31 Snow, sunny, turning mild.

APR. 2016: Temp. 7°C (1°C above avg.); precip. 30mm (avg.). 1-5 Sunny, mild east; snow showers, cold west. 6-9 Sunny, mild. 10-14

cip. 30mm

(10mm be-

low avg.).

1-6 Sunny,

» warm. 7-15 A few showers, turning cool. * 16-20 Scattered showers; somewhat cool east, warm west. 21—31 A few showers, seasonable.

JUNE 2016: Temp. 14.5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 95mm (20mm above avg.). 1-6 A few showers; cool, then warm. 7-13 Scattered tstorms; warm east, cool west. 14-26 Scattered t-storms; warm, then cool. 27—30 T-storms, then showers, cool.

JULY 2016: Temp. 17.5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 45mm (20mm below avg.). 1-7 A couple of t-storms, cool. 8-14 Sunny, nice. 15—23 Scattered t-storms, cool. 24~31 Isolated t-storms,

turning hot. AUG. 2016: Temp. 19.5°C (3°C above avg.); precip. 35mm (20mm below avg.). 1-5 Sunny, hot. 6-13 Scattered t-storms; cool, then hot. 14-21

Sunny; warm, then hot. 22-31

Scattered

t-storms, turning cooler. SEPT. 2016: Temp. 11°C (avg.); precip. 10mm (30mm

below

avg.).

1-6

Scattered

t-storms,

warm. 7—14 A few showers, cool. 15—19 Sunny, warm.

20-22

east; snow,

Showers,

cool.

then sunny,

23—26

T-storms

west; turning chilly.

27-30 Showers, warm.

OCT. 2016: Temp. 5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 10mm

(10mm

below

avg.).

mild, then cool. 6-9 Showers

1-5 Sunny;

east; snow,

then

Showers east, sunny west; cool. 15—20 Scattered

flurries west. 10—11 Snow showers. 12—18 Rain,

showers; mild, then cool. 21-30 Snow, then sunny, turning warm.

then sunny, mild. 19-21 Showers, mild east; snowy, cold west. 22-31 Snow showers, cold.

NOV.

DEC.

JAN.

FEB.

MAR.

APR.

z~

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG. SEPT.

Peal | teal ale le ZL| lel cE elall

OCT.

YZ

Y

Z

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

Z +30mm

Z

Z,

Z

3 m QO

Normal 3

—30mm

2

197

.

Forecast

SUMMARY: Winter will be colder than normal, with precipitation and snowfall generally below normal. The coldest periods will be in late December, early to mid-January and early February, with the snowiest periods in mid-November, mid-December, and early and mid-January. April and May will have near-normal temperatures and precipitation. Summer will be warmer and rainier than normal, with the hottest periods in mid-July and early and mid- to late August. September and October will be cooler and rainier than normal. rain and snow

NOV. 2015: Temp. 3°C (4°C below avg. north, avg. south); precip. 170mm

(20mm

above

avg.).

1-6

mild. 9-13 Snow showers north, showers south; mild. 14—23 Peri-

ods of rain and snow coast; snow, heavy at times, inland; cold. 24-30 Rainy, turning mild coast; snow showers, cold inland. DEC. 2015: Temp. 0°C (1°C below avg.); prebelow

avg.).

1-7

Rainy

periods coast, snow showers inland; mild. 8-12 Rainy coast, snowy periods inland; turning cold. 13-17 Snow, then flurries; cold. 18—24 Rainy

periods

coast,

snow

showers

inland;

turning

mild. 25—31 Flurries, turning cold. JAN. 2016: Temp. 1°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 160mm (10mm above avg.). 1-4 Rainy coast, snow showers inland. 5—9 Blizzard coast, snow showers inland; very cold. 10-14 Rainy coast, flurries inland; mild.

15-16

inland; cool.

APR. 2016: Temp. 8°C (avg.); precip. 75mm (20mm above avg. northeast, 20mm below southwest). 1—5 Showers, cool. 6-21 A few . Showers, seasonable. 22-30 Showers, then sunny, nice.

Rainy periods, mild. 7-8 Sunny,

cip. 150mm (10mm amra4b>ms

showers

24-31 Sunny, cool.

Snowstorm.

17-20 Rainy coast, snow showers inland; mild. 21-22 Sunny, mild. 23-24 Heavy snow northwest, heavy rain southwest, sunny east; mild. 25-31 Rain and snow showers, then sunny, cold.

FEB. 2016: Temp. 0°C (avg.); precip. 90mm

MAY

2016:

Temp.

11°C

(avg.); precip. 50mm (avg.). 1-5 Sunny, warm. 6-14 A few showers, cool. 15—22 Scattered showers, mild. 23—31 Scattered showers; cool coast, warm inland.

JUNE 2016: Temp. 13.5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 25mm (20mm below avg.). 1-11 A few showers, cool. 12-16 Showers, Scattered showers, cool.

warm.

17-30

JULY 2016: Temp. 18.5°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 75mm (40mm above avg.). 1-5 Showers, cool. 6-24 Sunny, turning hot. 25-31 Scattered.. showers; warm coast, hot inland. AUG. 2016: Temp. 18.5°C (2°C above avg.); precip. 80mm (40mm above avg.). 1-7 Sunny, hot. 8—15 Scattered showers, cooler. 16—23 Sunny coast, a few showers 24-31 Showers, cool.

inland; turning warm.

(20mm below avg.). 1-2 Sunny, cold. 3—9 Rainy southwest, rain and snow showers elsewhere; mild. 10-11 Sunny. 12-18 Rainy periods south, snow showers north; mild. 19-23 Snow, then

SEPT. 2016: Temp. precip. 115mm (50mm ers, cool. 8-16 Sunny, ods, cool. 24-30 A few

flurries, cold. 24~29 Rain and snow coast, flur-

OCT. 2016: Temp. 8°C (1°C below avg.);

ries inland; cold. MAR. 2016: Temp. 3°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 80mm (20mm below avg.). 1-8 Rainy periods coast, rain and snow showers inland. 9-12 Sunny, cool. 13-16 Snow northeast, sunny elsewhere; cold. 17—23 Rainy periods coast,

precip. 130mm (30mm above avg.). 1-4 Sunny, mild. 5-10 Showers, cool. 11-19 Rainy

Ba

petal i :

= Normal

w -2°C 198

NOV.

DEC.

JAN.

FEB.

MAR.

APR.

periods

south,

13°C (1°C below avg.); above avg.). 1-7 Showcool. 17-23 Rainy perishowers, mild.

rain and

snow

cold. 20-24 Rain and snow 25-31

north;

turning

showers, chilly.

Rain, then showers coast; snow

show-

ers inland; turning cold. MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG. SEPT.

| OCT.

LT TT TTIW 7 als% zz PS eee 2

Normal 5

—50mm Z

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com/W: eather.

2016

Weather

A Guide to Snowflakes Ifyou look closely at snowflakes, you will see many different shapes. Here are some of the most common ones. .

7

simple ofa

solid column

J

Pee

inss

>

Ape

N teias U

sheath

scroll on plate

triangular

hexagonal plate | hollow column

stellar plate

bullet rosette

| capped column

sectored plate | isolated bullet

multiple capped columns

{split plate and star) radiating plates

skeletal

radiating dendrite

BSD Lave simple star

simple needle

| capped bullets | twin columns

ae

a stellar dendrite

| needle clusters | double plates

| arrowhead twins

fernlike?’stellar dendrite

2016

crossed needles | _ hollow plate

crossed plates

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

graupel

ny

199.

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Get your local forecast at Almanac.com.

200

1. NORTHEAST

than normal, with the hottest periods in

SUMMARY: Winter temperatures will be near normal across the north and a bit below normal, on average, in the south. Most of December and January will bring below-normal temperatures,

late June, mid-July, and early and late August. The greatest tropical storm and hurricane threat is from early August to

with the coldest periods in early to midand late January. Precipitation will be slightly greater than normal, with snow-

mid-September. September and October will be much warmer than normal, with above-normal rainfall.

fall below normal in the north but above

3. APPALACHIANS

normal elsewhere. The snowiest periods

SUMMARY: Winter will be colder than normal, with precipitation slightly below normal. The coldest period will be in the middle part of January, with other cold periods in mid- and late December and early February. Snowfall will be near normal in Pennsylvania and above normal elsewhere in the region, with the snowiest periods in late December, mid- and late January, and early and mid-February. April and May will have near-normal temperatures and be slightly rainier than usual. Summer will be slightly cooler, with the hottest periods in mid-June and early and late August, and rainier than normal. September and October will be much warmer than normal, with slightly above-

will be in early and mid-December, early

to mid-January, late February, and early to mid-March. April and May will be slightly cooler and drier than normal.

Summer

will be slightly hotter and

rainier than normal, with the hottest pe-

riods in mid- and late June, early July, early to mid-August, and late August. Watch for tropical storm threats from

mid-August to mid-September. September and October will be much

warmer and slightly drier than normal.

2. ATLANTIC CORRIDOR SUMMARY:

Winter will be colder and

snowier than normal in the north, with near-normal temperatures and belownormal snowfall in the south. The coldest period will be in mid-January, with cold weather also occurring in late December, most of January, mid-February, and early

March.

Precipitation

normal rainfall.

4. SOUTHEAST SUMMARY:

Winter will be colder and

rainier than normal, with below-normal

will be slightly

snowfall. The coldest period will be in

above normal, with the snowiest periods

mid-January, with other cold spells in

in mid- and late December, early to mid-

early to mid- and late December, most of

January, and late March.

January, and early February. The snowi-

April and May will be slightly cooler than normal, with rainfall generally below normal.

ber and early February, with icy. periods

Summer

2016

will be hotter

and

rainier

est periods will be in mid- to late Decemin early and late January. April and May will be slightly cooler

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

201

than normal, with near-normal rainfall. Summer will be cooler than normal, with the hottest period in mid-August, and rainier than normal. The greatest hurricane threats will be in early to midJuly and mid- to late September. The

February. The snowiest periods will be in late November, December, mid-January,

greatest threat of tropical storms will be

and early and late February. April and May will be drier than normal, with temperatures below normal in the east and above normal in the west. Summer will be hotter and slightly

in mid-August. September and October will be much

ods in mid- and late June and mid- and

warmer than normal, with rainfall above normal in the north and below in the south.

Winter

late August.

September and October will be drier and much warmer than normal.

7. OHIO VALLEY

5. FLORIDA SUMMARY:

drier than normal, with the hottest peri-

will

be

slightly

SUMMARY:

Winter will be colder and

slightly drier than normal, with above-

milder and much drier than normal. The Amxrap>ms coldest temperatures will occur in mid-

normal snowfall. The coldest period will

to late December, mid-January, and early

be in mid- to late January, with other cold

February. April and May will be hotter than normal, with below-normal rainfall.

early and late February. The snowiest pe-

Summer

will be hotter than normal

across most of the state, although slightly

cooler than normal in the south. The hottest periods will be in early to mid-June, early to mid-July, and mid-August. Rainfall will be above normal, especially in the north, with hurricane threats in early July and early to mid-August. September and October will be warm-

er than normal, with rainfall below normal in September and above normal in

October.

6. LOWER LAKES SUMMARY: Winter will be colder than normal, with below-normal precipitation and generally below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in early to

spells in mid- and late December and riods will be in early to mid- and mid- to late December, February, and March. April and May will be cooler and drier than normal. Summer will be hotter than normal, with below-normal rainfall in the east and above normal in the west. The hot-

test periods will be in late June and early and late August.

September and October will be much warmer than normal, with the hottest period in early September, and will have near-normal rainfall.

8. DEEP SOUTH SUMMARY: Winter will be drier than normal.

The

north

will have

below-

normal temperatures and above-normal

mid-December, late December, and ear-

snowfall, while the south will have nearnormal temperatures and no snowfall.

ly to mid- and mid- to late January and

The coldest periods will occur in late

202

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com.

2016

November,

mid-

and

late

December,

temperatures, slightly below-normal

pre-

mid-January, and early February, with

cipitation, and near-normal snowfall, while

the greatest threats for snow in mid- to late December, early and late January,

and early and mid- to late February. April and May will be cooler and drier than normal. Summer will be rainier and slightly cooler than normal, with the hottest periods in early June, mid-July, and early September. The greatest hurricane

the south will have near-normal temperatures, with below-normal precipitation and snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid-November, late December, early and late January, and mid- and late February. The snowiest periods will be in early and late December, late January, late February, and mid-March. April and May will be warmer and

threats will be in mid- and late August

drier than normal.

and mid-September.

Summer will be hotter and drier than normal, with drought a concern. The hottest periods will be in mid- and late June and early and mid- to late August. September and October will be much milder than normal, with near-normal rainfall.

September and October will be much

warmer than normal, with rainfall below normal in the north and above normal in

the south.

9. UPPER MIDWEST SUMMARY: Winter will be much colder than normal,

on average,

with above-

normal precipitation. Snowfall will be

11. TEXAS-OKLAHOMA SUMMARY: Winter will be much warmer

near normal in most of the region but

and drier than normal, with below-nor-

above normal

mal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in early and late December, late January,

in the east. Very cold

weather will predominate from late December through early February, with the snowiest periods in late November, late January, and mid-March.

April and May will be slightly warmer and wetter than normal. Summer will be hotter and drier than normal. The hottest periods will occur in late June and early and late August. September and October will be much warmer and slightly rainier than normal in the east and rainier than normal, with near-normal temperatures, in the west.

10. HEARTLAND SUMMARY: In winter, the northern part of the region will have above-normal 2016

and early February, while the snowiest periods across the north will occur in late December, early and late January, and mid- and late February.

April and May will be warmer and drier than normal, with drought a major concern. Summer will be slightly rainier than normal, with near-normal temperatures.

The hottest periods will be in early and late June, early July, and late August. September and October will be warmer than normal, with near-normal rainfall

in the north. Hurricanes in early and midSeptember may help to ease the drought. (continued)

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

203

am

12. HIGH PLAINS SUMMARY: Winter will be colder than normal in the north, with above-normal temperatures in the south. The coldest periods will be in early and late December, early and late January, and mid- and late

February. Precipitation will be slightly above normal, with above-normal snowfall in the east and below-normal snow-

fall elsewhere. The snowiest periods will

September and October will be much cooler than normal, with near-normal precipitation.

14. DESERT SOUTHWEST SUMMARY: Winter temperatures will be near to below normal in the east and below normal in the west. The coldest periods will be from mid-December into early January and in late January and

be in early and late December, early and mid-January, early and mid-February, and mid-March.

mid-February. Precipitation and snowfall will be slightly below normal, with the

April and May will be slightly drier than normal, with near-normal temperaee Be ee oy tures. Summer will be slightly hotter and

late February. April will be cooler and rainier than normal, followed by above-normal tem-

drier than normal, with the hottest peri-

snowiest periods in late December and

peratures and near-normal rainfall in May.

Summer

will be slightly drier than

ods in mid-June, early and late July, and

normal, with temperatures below normal

mid-August. September and October will be cooler than normal, with above-normal precipitation.

in the east and above normal in the west. The hottest periods will be in mid-June, early and mid-July, and early and mid- to

13. INTERMOUNTAIN SUMMARY: Winter temperatures will be

late August.

September and October will be much cooler and slightly rainier than normal.

much above normal, with precipitation

15. PACIFIC NORTHWEST

near normal in the north and below nor-

SUMMARY: ‘Winter. will be cooler and rainier than normal, with above-normal snowfall. The stormiest periods will be

mal in the south. The coldest periods will be in mid- and late December, late January, and mid- and late February. Snowfall will be above normal near Reno but below normal elsewhere, with the snowiest periods in early and mid-December, ear-

throughout November

and in early to

mid- and mid- to late December, early

January, and early March. The coldest periods will be in mid- and late Decem-

ly January, and mid- and late February.

ber, late January, and mid- to late Feb-

April and May will be slightly cooler and wetter than normal. Summer will be hotter than normal, with slightly above-normal rainfall. The

ruary, with the snowiest periods in mid-

hottest periods will be in mid-June, mid-

and late July, and early August. 204

December,

early to mid-January,

and

mid- to late February. April and May will be cooler and slightly rainier than normal. Summer will be warmer and rainier

Get your local forecast at Almanac.com.

2016

than normal, with the hottest tempera-

above normal in the south, with the cold-

tures in mid- and late July and early August.

est temperatures in mid-January and late

September and October will be cooler than normal, with rainfall above normal in the north and near normal in the south.

late February EC, mid-January and late February WC, and early January S. Precipitation will be near normal, with snow--

16. PACIFIC SOUTHWEST

EW. The snowiest periods will be in early to mid-November N+WC, mid-December

SUMMARY: Although the early part of the winter season will feature abovenormal rainfall, the drought will continue as rainy periods will diminish in the season’s second half and precipitation will _ be below normal for the winter season as a whole, with below-normal mountain snows not helping to ease the drought.

February N, early and mid-January and

fall below normal SC and above normal

EC, early to mid-November and late January SC, and late November, early December, mid-January, and late February P+A. April and May will be slightly warmer than normal, with near-normal precipitation.

Summer will be cooler and a bit wet-

The stormiest periods will be in mid- to

ter than normal, with the hottest period

late November, early to mid-December, early January, and early March. Overall, temperatures will be slightly cooler than normal. The coldest period will be in late

in mid-June.

December,

with other cold periods in

September and October will be drier than normal, with near-normal temperatures.

18. HAWAII |

early and late January and mid-February.

SUMMARY:

April and May will be cooler and slightly rainier than normal.

will be below normal on the Big Island

Summer

will be hotter than normal,

with near-normal rainfall. The hottest periods will be in early June, early to mid- and late July, and early and mid- to late August. September and October will be slight-

ly cooler than normal, with near-normal

Winter season temperatures

and Maui; near normal on Molokai, Oahu,

Lanai, and Kahoolawe; and above normal on Kauai. The coolest periods will be in late December, early and mid-January, mid-February, and early March. Winter will be much rainier than normal, espe-

cially from November into mid-January. April and May will be much rainier than

rainfall.

normal, with temperatures close to normal.

17. ALASKA

than normal, on average, with slightly

' Summer

KEY: Panhandle (P), Aleutians (A), north (N), south (S), west-central (WC), east-central (EC), south-central (SC), elsewhere (EW) i

SUMMARY: Winter season temperatures will be colder than normal in the north and

2016

temperatures will be cooler

below-normal rainfall. The warmest pe-

riod will be from the latter half of August into early September. September and October temperatures will be slightly cooler than normal, with near-normal rainfall. @

THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC Canadian Edition

205

zam

Home

Heating With Wood How Many Trees ina

Heat Values FIREWOOD

Cord of Wood? DIAMETER OF TREE (41,' ABOVE GROUND)

High Heat Value 1 cord = 200-250 gallons of fuel oil American beech Apple Ironwood Red oak Shagbark hickory Sugar maple White ash White oak Yellow birch

A Few Clues About Cords of Wood

Medium Heat Value 1 cord = 150-200 gallons of fuel oil American elm Black cherry Douglas fir Red maple Silver maple Tamarack White birch

@ Acord of wood may contain from 77 _ to 96 cubic feet of wood. _ M@ The larger the unsplit logs, thelarger . | the gaps, with fewer cubic feet of wood

actually in the cord.

™ From one cord of firewood, you could make 7,500,000 toothpicks, 460,000 personal checks, 30 Boston rockers, ¢ | 12 dining room tables with each tabl

Redwood Sitka spruce Western red cedar White pine

| seatingeight. _

Fuel

BTU (approx.)

Oil

141,000

Coal

31,000

Pound

1,000

Cubic foot

Propane Gasoline Wood Pellets

206

:

® A cord of air-dried, dense hardwood — | weighs about 2 tons (4,000 pounds). |

_ Aspen Cottonwood Hemlock Lodgepole pine Red alder

Electricity

|

B A cord of wood is a stack of logs 4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long.

Low Heat Value 1 cord = 100-150 gallons of fuel oil

Natural gas

NUMBER OF TREES (PER CORD)

Unit of Measure

Gallon

191,000

Gallon

3,413

Kilowatt-hour

124,000

Gallon

8,250

Pound

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Gardening

™@ Dates given are normal averages for a light freeze; local weather and topography may cause considerable variations. The possibility of frost occurring after the spring dates and before the fall dates is 50 percent. The classification of freeze temperatures is usually based on their effect on plants. Light freeze: —2° to 0°C (29° to 32°F)—tender

plants killed. Moderate freeze: —4° to -2°C_ (25° to 28°F)—widely destructive to most vegetation. Severe freeze: below -4°C (24°F and colder)—heavy damage to most plants. —dates below courtesy of Environment Canada

Province/ City

Growing — Last Season Spring (days) Frost

First Fall Frost

Growing . Last Season Spring (days) Frost

Province/City

NT

FortSimpson . 91 - Norman Wells 100 113. 158 162. 168 95

~

n

First Fall Frost

May27 May 27 May28 May5 May1 «Apr. 28

Aug. 26 Sept.4 Sept. 18 Oct.10 Oct. 10 Oct. 13

June8

Sept. 11

168 Apr.26 Oct. 11 154 May8& Oct.9 148. May7 = Oct.2 163. May5 Oct. 15 133. May 14 Sept. 24 133. May 17 Sept. 27 94 June7 Sept.9 158 May4 Oct,9 104. June5 — Sept. 17 186 © Apr.22 Oct. 25 129. May 28 Oct.4

152.

May18

Oct. 17

167 May6 = Oct. 20 114 May 26. Sept. 17 114 May 30 Sept. 21 142, May 14. Oct.3 163° Apr. 29: