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February 2020
“The groundhog is like most prophets;
it makes its prediction and then disappears.”
- Bill Vaughn (1947- )
Mid-Atlantic Weather Watch: Cold, periods of light snow (1,2,3,4,5) with Nor’easter and heavy snow (6,7,8). Fair, rather cold (9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16) remaining fair, but not as cold (17,18). Snow, some rain in the southern part of the region (19,20,21) turning fair, cold 22,23,24,25,26) with
Nor’easter, heavy snow (27,28,29).
Full Moon: February’s Full Moon will occur on , the 9st. It has been called Wolf Moon due to the howling heard during the month, the middle of their breeding season. In other parts of North America, where tribes saw the deepest snow, it was called Snow Moon and because there was such an extreme scarcity of game to hunt, it was also aptly referred to as
Hunger Moon.
Special Notes: “Punxsutawney Phil” makes his much-anticipated appearance on Sunday, February 2nd to ‘predict’ the coming of Spring! How this little marmota monax reacts to the day’s weather will determine the arrival of Spring. If is sunny and he sees his shadow, he will retreat underground for another 6 weeks of Winter! If it is cloudy and he doesn’t get
scared by his own shadow, Spring will come early in 2020.
Holidays: The Christian Festival of Lights, or Candlemas, is celebrated on Sunday, February 2nd. On this day, many churches would traditionally display many more candles than usual during their daily services to not only make the service special but it was also believed that the additional light would provide protection from illness and plague in the coming
year. Valentine’s Day, February 14th, falls on Friday in 2020. Show that special someone just how much you appreciate their being a part of your life. The birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Wednesday, February 12th) and George Washington (Saturday, the 22nd) are collectively celebrated on President’s Day which falls on Monday, February 17th to provide us with an
extended holiday weekend. Enjoy!
The Garden: The vegetable garden should get its first good tilling of the year, if weather and wetness permits. This will help the weather aid you in breaking up the dirt clods. In the event of snow, be sure to shake or brush off the white stuff from the branches of your evergreens and shrubs. Plants that may have been pushed out of the ground by frost
heave should be pressed firmly back into place. Deciduous shrubs and trees are still dormant enough to transplant this month. Once the buds have begun to swell, it will be too late. Continue feeding our feathered friends. You will want them to stick around so they will provide natural insect control when the weather warms again.
The Farm: Best for planting root crops (12, 13); Best for weeding and stirring the soil (3, 5); Best for planting above-ground crops (6, 7); Best for planting root crops (18, 19, 20); for harvesting all crops (16, 17). Best days to set hens and incubators (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), slaughter and butcher meat (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28),
transplant (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28), harvest and store grains (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31), wean animals (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25).
J. Gruber’s Thought For Today’s Living
“If everyone were perfect, there would be no need for criticism, even of oneself”.
Index of Past Month's Entries
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