The first edition of the Farmer’s Almanac
In one of my stories about Pop-pop, I wrote how he relied on the Farmer’s Almanac and always had the current issue hanging by a string in the cow barn. It was almost as important as the Bible to a farm family with all kinds of information especially about the predicted weather for the year. Grandmom would “steal” it for recipes and home remedies, and my mom was interested in the astrology pages. She was an Aquarius born on February 8th, smack dab in the middle of the sign. In recent years I have taken an interest in this sign in trying to understand my mom better and how she kept secrets to her death.
Published the year before my birth.
Here are a few things I found out about the “water-bearer” which is actually one of the three air signs. I always knew Mommy was an Aquarius and could never understand why she was afraid of going into the water. She would barely get her feet wet at the beach so obviously I was misinterpreting the meaning of the sign of Aquarius. From more reading I learned that an Aquarius was often a rebel, zigging when everyone else zagged, and with a stubborn streak. Yes, I could see that being true. And instead of engaging when emotionally charged, they often withdrew and “ghosted”. I could see that, too. They are friendly but difficult to get close to, cold, aloof and somewhat detached…okay.
I have mixed feelings about astrology, but whenever I see the word horoscope, I have to read mine. I know it’s not scientifically based, and yet I am pulled to it like a magnet, always agreeing with the good parts and poo-pooing the bad just like a good Scorpio should. And yet, I can agree with so many of those traits in my mom.
I bought this year’s Almanac way back in the Fall when it first appeared on my grocery store’s shelf right by the register where they put all that important and irresistible stuff. I settled down on the porch swing with it in hand when I returned home and had put away my groceries. It was like going back in time, reading all those important weather predictions and really thinking of them as fact, true, definitely happening, just as my grandfather read them a hundred years ago. He would plan out his planting calendar by the moon’s phases and the Almanac’s predicted frosts.
Have you heard of the word “phenology”? It means the study of phenomena, specifically the life cycles of plants and animals as they correlate to weather and temperature. In other words, nature’s calendar as the Almanac likes to call it. There is a special section for this and Pop-pop studied it until the pages were ready to fall out. And he swore by its reliability! For instance, “Plant tomatoes (his specialty) when lilies of the valley are in full bloom. This flower is a native plant in Delaware and grows wild along the edges of forests. Its white bell-like flowers bloom from mid to late spring emitting the smell of that common perfume for which it is named.
In my 2026 Almanac I can see that Delaware has 199 days in its growing season this year with the last spring frost on April 13th and the first fall frost on October 30th. I know that when lilacs begin to bloom, grasshopper eggs hatch. And if I’m daring enough, I can make zesty tomato-basil ice cream. Now there’s a recipe you can’t find everywhere! Did you know that 2028 will be a leap year? Important information for young ladies of marrying age.
If I’m so inclined I can learn all about the planets of the solar system, the exact day and time of the next meteor shower, and the healing power of honey. And then I think…I can do that quicker with Google! But it’s not nearly as much fun as riffling through those real pages of the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Thanks, Pop-pop!
