As cold fronts approach, children should eat more

5:59 PM Saturday, February 6, 2010

The first stage in the progress of spring is the sighting of “firsts”: first bluebird, first robin, first turkey vulture and so forth. After that, quantity counts as much as much as novelty. The number of robins, the number of blackbirds, the number of blooming bulbs, the number of pussy willow catkins emerging take on more and more importance until the next stage of the year arrives, the stage at which all the old first creatures and events and numbers are commonplace and give way to new firsts and new quantities.

This week

The dark Skunk Cabbage Moon wanes through its final quarter this week, becoming the new Running Maple Sap Moon at 9:51 p.m. on Feb. 13. Rising before dawn and setting in the afternoon, this moon is over Buck Creek State Park in the middle of the day.

Lunar position this week suggests that the most fish will bite as the air and water warm up near midday. Dieters may have trouble refraining from pie at that time, as well. As the cold fronts of Feb. 11 and 15 approach, fish should become more active, and children should eat more.

As the moon waxes throughout the remainder of the month, the sap should start to flow, reaching its Early Spring peak on Feb. 28, full moon day.

This is one of the finest lunar planting weeks of the year for flowers and vegetables that produce their fruit above the ground. Put in your seeds in flats under lights and keep them moist and warm.

The weather

By Feb. 14, chances for highs in the 20s or below fall to only 10 percent in Clark County, and by the 15th, chances for temperatures above 50 degrees jump to 40 percent per day — the highest so far this year. Chances for highs in the 60s suddenly start to increase, too: the 18th brings a 20 percent chance for such warmth.

Daybook

Feb. 8: Groundhogs come out of hibernation in milder years. You may see them eating the new grass or digging for roots by the side of the road. Other Zeitgebers (event in nature that tell the time of year) for this week include sleepy flies and cabbage moths emerging in your greenhouse or sunroom, the arrival of red-winged blackbirds in Clark County wetlands, and continued activity of skunks, raccoons and opossums after dark.

Feb. 9: Sunset now occurs near 6 p.m. for the first time since Oct. 12. Cedar waxwings, horned larks and snow buntings are migrating. Moss grows and flowers on logs in the sun.

Feb. 10: Under the dark moon, you can plant onions directly in the ground as soon as the soil is properly prepared. Then seek the striped bass that are starting to bite.

Feb. 11: The cold front due to arrive in Springfield near this date is expected be relatively weak, foretaste of Early Spring just a week away.

Feb. 12: The pace of spring quickens, as the sun reaches 40 percent of the way to equinox today. Continue planting and frost seeding throughout the period. Frost seeding is the easiest way to get an early start on filling in bare spaces in your lawn. Just sprinkle seed on the cold ground; the freezing and thawing to come will work the seeds into the ground, and they should sprout in April or May.

Feb. 13: Take cuttings to propagate shrubs, trees, and houseplants. In the South, pasture season can be under way by now, and fields are starting to turn a deeper green well into the border states. Along the Ohio River (and in the sunniest Clark County yards), strawberries sometimes have new foliage .

Feb. 14: You can set out most tender vegetables and flowers on May 1, 12 weeks from today. Prepare equipment to spray fruit trees when high temperatures climb into the 40s next week. Ideally, all winter pruning should be complete as the knuckles of this year’s rhubarb crop push out of the ground.

Mind and body clock

Take cuttings to propagate shrubs, trees, and house plants. Under this week’s dark moon, complete winter pruning to retard growth. Plan to spray fruit trees between now and the middle of March. Don’t wait too long, or an unseasonable warm spell might start the bloom and insect cycles early.

Even if you live in the city, plan to tap a maple tree for sap. You need to drill a hole in the trunk, provide some kind of tube for a drain, and an empty jug.

Feb. 14 is Chinese New Year, and the 16th is Mardi Gras; if you missed selling your lambs or kids to those markets this season, plan to take advantage of them next year.

By the end of the week, the S.A.D. Index (that measures forces contributing to seasonal stress on a scale of 1 to 75) falls below 60 for the first time this year. You may be feeling better!

Bill Felker has been watching local weather and writing almanacks since 1984. Contact him at wfelker@woh.rr.com or visit his Web site at poorwillsalmanack.com.

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