Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

For the month of January, temperatures will be below average with precipitation to be above average..

Weather Watch: Fair and cold (1,2,3) with snow or rain (4,5); Fair and cold (6,7); stormy, snow or rain with periods of snow or rain (10,11,12,13). Snow or rain and very windy (14,15,16,17); fair and cold (18,19,20) and stormy, snow (21,22,23). Windy and very cold (24,25,26,27). The month ends with fair skies but very cold (31).

Tornado Watch: The Almanac sees no tornado activity for this first month of 2004.

Full Moon: the Full Moon for January occurs on the 7th and is sometimes referred to as the Wolf MOON. This is because of all of the wolf packs that roamed around Native American villages looking for food during that month. It is also called the HUNGER MOON due to the difficulty finding food in cold and temperate climates during this winter month.

Special Notes: On January 4th, 1821, the first native-born America saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton died in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929.

Holidays: Start the New Year off with realistic resolutions on Day One. If they are reasonable to start with, it will be easier to stick to them throughout the entire year and not just the first few months! Remember to honor the great Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 19th.

The Garden: Begin planning your spring gardening activities during the coming long winter nights. Pick up a few gardening books and magazines, noting the pictures that appeal to you and list the changes you want to make in your garden. Collect nursery and seed catalogs now and remember to place your orders early. And now is the time to spoil those indoor plants! They not only brighten up the house but they also rid indoor air of nasty pollutants.

J. Grubers' Thought for Today's Living: "The next twelve months offers us a world of promise; it all depends on each one of us and how much we are willing to give of ourselves to help make it a better world"