Watch out for mounds rising in lawn as moles wake up and hunt

When daffodils begin to peer

With hey the doxy over the dale,

Why then comes in the sweet o’ the year

And the red blood reigns in the winter’s pale.

— William Shakespeare

The moon and stars

The Robin Mating Chorus Moon becomes the Cows Switching Their Tails Moon at 9:31 p.m. on Sunday. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening, this moon passes overhead in the middle of the day, encouraging creatures to feed around that time, especially as the cold front of April 11 approaches.

Now Arcturus, the brightest star above you at bedtime, still hangs a little to the east of the center of the sky. But as that star shifts into the west, it pulls the chances of a freeze with it. When you check the sky and see Arcturus well into the west at 11:00 p.m., you should be able to plant any vegetable or flower that you want.

Weather patterns

Chances of highs below 50 degrees fall to less than ten percent in April’s second week, where they remain until they drop to five percent on April 22. This month’s new moon on the 11th is likely to intensify the cold wave that often arrives near that date.. Lows in the cold 20s are rare ( just a five percent chance on the 17th and 18th), but light frost still strikes an average of one night in four.

Zeitgebers (Events in nature that tell the time of year)

House wrens migrate as velvety wild ginger leaves unfold on the hillsides. The wood grouse drums for his mate, and wood thrushes sing in the trees. Downy woodpeckers are mating. Newborn groundhogs have come out of their dens.

Hobblebush is leafing in the woods. Nettles are about half a foot tall in the pastures. Tadpoles swim in the pools and ponds.

Columbines and bleeding hearts are bushy and nearly a foot tall. Rhubarb leaves are bigger than a big man’s hand. The grass is long enough to cut.

Redbud branches turn violet as their buds stretch and crack.

Privets are filling out. Branches of the multiflora roses are almost completely covered with foliage. Early tulips are at their peak. Virginia bluebells are in full bloom. Wild turkeys are gobbling.

Deer are born and bullheads begin their spawning run. Wood ticks have emerged as far north as Minnesota. Along the beaches of the Northeast, piping plovers are returning to establish their nests.

Trees are in full flower throughout the Central Plains, the Northeast, the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. In the Southeast, all the grasses are coming into bloom.

Countdown to spring

■ One week until the Great Dandelion and Violet Bloom begins

■ Two weeks until azaleas and snowball viburnums and dogwoods blossom

■ Three weeks until iris and poppies and daisies come into flower

■ Four weeks until the beginning of clover time in yards and pastures

■ Five weeks until the first orange day lily flowers

■ Six weeks until roses bloom and thistles bud

■ Seven weeks until the first strawberry shortcake

■ Eight weeks until cottonwoods bloom and send their cotton through the air

■ Nine weeks to the first mulberry pie

Mind and body

The S.A.D. Index, which measures seasonal stress on a scale from 1 to 100, rises to a high of 49 on April 11 (thanks to the new moon’s influence). After that it falls into the 30s, even dipping into the 20s, until the full of the moon approaches in April’s last week.

In the field and garden

Asparagus is up in the garden when toad trillium blooms in the woods and the first strawberries are in flower. Japanese beetle grubs move to the surface of the ground to feed as the weather warms.

Sow sweet Cicely, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley in your pasture in order to increase your milk yield. Remember that a pasture that is unmanaged may provide more roughage than real nourishment.

About a fifth of Ohio River tobacco beds are seeded now. Average highs reach 60 in central Ohio and Indiana.

Mounds begin to rise in the lawn as moles wake up and hunt grubs and worms.

Some sheep owners are putting their flocks to work cutting grass, controlling weeds and reducing the undergrowth in forests.

Most weeds have sprouted by the middle of April. Walk new pastures looking for unfamiliar plants.

After the April 11 highpressure system crosses the several dry days often follow in its wake. This is the period during which you should try to complete all your early planting. Five more weeks remain until frostfree gardening in most of the region.

Journal

Scattered notes from this week of the past forty years sketch a portrait of the days, one that has changed little with time. Even though such observations may seem random and disconnected, they create their own context when they are gathered together into spring.

1981: Bleeding hearts have pink buds.

1982: Honeybees are out gathering pollen from the pussy willows. Leaves starting on the fruit trees.

1983: Forsythia is leafing now.

1984: Bees in the pussy willows. First dandelion.

1985: First cherry blossoms. First forgetme-nots in the garden.

1986: Bees were all over the cherry tree today. Several cabbage butterflies seen. First apple blossom in the yard. Red quince is full. Forsythia fading.

1988: First cabbage butterflies seen today. Frog or toad eggs reported from Mrs. Bletzinger’s pond (about five miles west of town).

1998: Frog calls

5:00 a.m. Wild phlox full bloom, and creeping phlox in town. First apple blossom opens. Lilacs are open.

1999: A frog croaked at 6:34 a.m. Zelda, the huge orange koi, leapt into the air at 4:30 p.m., rare spring frisking.

2002: First carpenter bee of the year came out of the woodwork today.

2008: The first cabbage butterfly of the year appeared in the north garden this morning.

2013: The green frog was sitting by the pond at 9:30 – the first time I’ve seen him this year