Mid-Atlantic Weather Watch: Storms, mainly in the southern part of the region (1, 2); hazy, hot, and humid (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) with remnants of hurricane from eastern Gulf, heavy rain (10, 11, 12). Hot and humid (13, 14, 15, 16, 17) with tropical rain (18, 19). Hazy, hot, and humid again (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25), scattered showers (26, 27), and hazy, hot, and humid yet again (28, 29, 30, 31).

Tornado Watch: The Town and Country Almanack sees possible tornado activity in the Mid-Atlantic Region from the 8th to the 10th of the month.

Full Moon: July’s Full Moon will occur on July 16th Thunder Moon was the name given to it by many Native Americans due to the high number of thunderstorms, some quite severe, that happened during this month in some areas. Buck Moon is another name given it due the appearance of antlers on young bucks in July and since hay tended to ripen at this time of year, and because of the appearance of young corn on the stalks, it was also given the names Hay Moon and Ripe Corn Moon.

Special Notes: The ‘Dog Days of Summer’ begin on Wednesday, July 3rd and will continue into mid-August.

Holidays: Independence Day falls on Thursday. If enjoying the holiday outdoors this year (and The Almanack is predicting perfect weather!), be sure to remember sunscreen. Apply it frequently to yourself and the kids, especially if swimming or engaging in strenuous activities like sports or hiking.

The Garden: Continue to keep the garden adequately watered (that is, if July’s forecasted wet weather is not enough!). Expect plants to do well with all of the rain predicted in July but as the summer continues, be sure to make up for what Mother Nature neglects to provide. Order bulbs now for fall planting, to get the best selection of varieties. Lots of spring-blooming bulbs are deer-resistant. Avoid tulips and crocus, and enjoy carefree alliums, winter aconite, snowdrops, snowflake, Siberian squill, glory-of-the-snow, Puschkinia, Fritillaria, and Anemone blanda. Grape hyacinths send up fall foliage, but even when it’s browsed, it doesn’t seem to affect their vigor

The Farm: Best for planting root crops (25, 26); weeding and stirring the soil (1, 4, 5); planting above-ground crops (2, 3, 10, 11, 12); harvesting all crops (13, 14, 17, 18, 19); the best days for setting hens and incubators (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25); the slaughtering and butchering of meat (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 31); transplanting (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 31) the weaning of all small animals and livestock (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21); harvesting and storing grains (1, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31).