Allergy season comes to nation with last front of March

Now Spring returns with warming breezes,

Now wild March skies Retreat before the soft west wind.

— Catullus

Astronomical information

The new Robin Mating Chorus Moon reaches apogee, its position farthest from Earth on March 18 at 12 a.m. On March 21, it enters its second quarter at 9:40 a.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting after midnight, this moon increases the likelihood of angling success when it passes overhead in the evening, especially as the low pressure system in front of the March 24 cold fronts lower the barometer.

After dark, Leo and bright Regulus lie overhead, forecasting daffodils. Arcturus is rising in the east, and when that star is above you at 10 p.m., tulips will be blossoming. Behind Arcturus comes the Corona Borealis, the corn planting star group. At morning chore time, the Summer Triangle, outrider of July’s corn tassels, fills the eastern half of the sky, and the Milky Way of harvest follows close behind.

Spring equinox occurs and the Sun enters Aries on March 20 at 5:37 a.m.

Weather trends

Does Spring really come with equinox? Well, Early Spring came a month ago; you’ve probably seen its footprints: pussy willows opening, a crocus here and there, red maples flowering, sap in the jugs.

And this week, when the sun reaches its halfway point to Middle Summer, there’s more progress. Right after equinox, the chances for highs above 40 degrees suddenly rise to 90 percent (they were between 50 and 60 percent just two weeks ago). By the end of the month, an afternoon in the 30s – common not so long ago – becomes a rarity!

Although chances for highs above 50 remain about the same as those of last week (that is between 35 and 45 percent), March’s fourth quarter shows a clear decrease in the likelihood for highs in the 20s. With equinox, the chances for that kind of cold fall below five percent for the first time since the middle of December.

Zeitgebers

(Events in nature that tell the time of year)

In warmer springs, snowdrops, aconites and snow crocus decline as peony stalks reach at least two inches above the mulch

This week is often marked by blossoms of grape hyacinths, and the earliest tulips.

The first ragweed and touch-me-not sprouts emerge. Pollen often forms on the pussy willows, and gold finches turn gold just as the first daffodils bloom.

Mock orange leafs out, pacing the boxwood, lilac, black raspberry, multiflora rose and coralberry foliage. In the greenhouse, tropical mother-of-millions blossom time ends just as day and night grow equal.

Clematis leaves emerge beside new growth of the dodder. Comfrey leaves reach two inches long. In the Southeast, live oak trees shed their leave as new growth appears.

Flickers and purple martins migrate to the Ohio Valley. Turkeys start to gobble in preparation for mating time, and the pre-dawn morning robin chorus moves well up into the northern states.

Countdown to spring

■ One week until golden forsythia blooms in town and skunk cabbage sends out its first leaves in the wetlands

■ Two weeks until the blooming Middle Spring wildflowers in the woods

■ Three weeks until American toads sing their mating songs in the night.

■ Four weeks until the Great Dandelion and Violet Bloom begins

■ Five weeks until azaleas and snowball viburnums and dogwoods blossom

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

■ Seven weeks until the beginning of clover bloom in yards and pastures

■ Eight weeks until the first orange day lily flowers

■ Nine weeks until roses bloom and thistles bud

■ Ten weeks until the high tree canopy begins to shade the garden

Mind and body

The S.A.D. Index, which measures seasonal stress on a scale from 1 to 100, declines quickly as equinox approaches, dropping over 20 points to a mild 38 on March 21. With night and day now equal, and the moon near apogee and between new and full, and with the likelihood of clouds and wintry weather less threatening than just a week ago, seasonal affective disorder usually lightens in most people.

For full S.A.D. statistics, consult Poor Will’s Almanack for 2021.

In the field and garden

This is ordinarily the latest date for seeding tobacco along the Ohio River. In the warmest years, the first head lettuce and sweet corn are planted in the Midwest for early harvest.

Weak lunar position augurs well for livestock maintenance activities. Transporting sheep, goats, chickens and calves should be less stressful at this time unless they are sitting with you in the front seat of the family car.

Your ewes and does should start gaining weight when their offspring are taken away to be weaned.

Be sure the baby chicks don’t get chilled in the March winds. Keep up winter precautions until both the season and the birds have matured a bit.

As pasture season spreads north, have baking soda is on hand for bloat in sheep and goats. And consider culling before you put your animals out to pasture.

Clean out the hen house. Check all your poultry for mites. If you have a broody hen, get her away from her nest for several days. Or try replacing her eggs with a bag of frozen vegetables.

The Allergy index Estimated pollen count

Allergy season comes to the whole nation with the last front of March. During the weeks ahead, trees are in full flower throughout the Central Plains, the Northeast, the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. In the southeastern coastal plains, all the grasses are blooming. Pollen from whatever is blossoming to the west of you will arrive at your homestead every two to three days. Cold fronts bring northern allergens to southern areas. Low pressure in advance of the cold fronts brings up allergens from the South.

The following estimates are based on average counts across the central states. Although each village and farm will have different pollution levels, a clear rise is visible in the amount of pollen in the air in most parts of the country throughout April.

Major pollen source: box elders, maples, pussy willows, flowering crabs and cherries.

(On a scale of 0-700 grains per cubic meter)

April 1: 10, April 10: 50, April 15: 100, April 20: 150, April 25: 200, April 30: 400

Journal

The other day, someone asked me, “What is the point of keeping track of things like flowers and birds? And I answered that - without my notes - I would literally feel lost in space.

I tried to explain that, for me, place and time do not exist outside of personal observations and feelings. I wake up in my familiar bed, see the same trees, the same roads, the same family. I put on familiar clothes, listen to familiar sounds, recall familiar memories. I therefore know where I am and who I am.

The real question, I suppose, is “What kind of awareness do you need, what kind of awareness do you want to choose in order to know where and who you are?” Personal space is an arbitrary but momentous thing. Space filled with television or work is different from space filled with birdsong and flowering trees. Some people ignore the world of Early Spring like others ignore basketball or hockey games. An entangled relationship or a major study or building project can absorb almost every piece of one’s attention, hardly leaving room for anything else.

Most personal space is fragile, dependent on social or economic factors. But the space of nature, like spiritual space, has the advantage of always being always close at hand, offers comfort in difficult times, provides beauty, balance, escape, instruction, context and perspective. Without it, I would be far more vulnerable to events in other spaces and would have no where to go if those spaces fell apart.

“Poor Will’s Almanack for 2021” (with the S.A.D. Index) is still available!

For your autographed copy, send $20.00 (includes shipping and handling) to Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387.