November is getting pretty far along now. Most of the leaves have come down throughout the northern half of the United States, and the likelihood of frost and snow flurries becomes stronger.
The Pleiades are well up in the east in the late evening, followed by Aldebaran and Taurus. Orion and winter aren’t far behind them.
The Apple Cider Moon cedes to the Paperwhite Moon on November 18, and now is a perfect time to place paper white bulbs in water so they bloom for mid winter. Or purchase a grow light and flats and soil for starting seeds of flowers like geraniums and coleus that will bloom in spring. Some nurseries have the seeds out already, or you can order on line and maybe have your seeds to put in at December’s new Bedding Plant Moon just a month from now on December 18.
With your seeds tucked in under a warm grow light, you can go outside under the dark Moon to watch the Leonid meteors after midnight on the 17th and 18th. If you happen to see one of those shooting stars some legends suggest that good luck will follow you in the year ahead.
It may be less trouble, though, to watch the Sun – which is now within only a couple of degrees from its lowest position in the sky. Paying attention at a south window, note how far the Sun advances between today and mid-December’s solstice. From this private observatory, you can watch and actually measure that Sun’s approach to solstice and then its retreat toward spring.
This is Bill Felker with Poor Will’s Almanack. I'll be back again next week with notes for the third week of Late Fall. In the meantime, get some seeds watch the Moon, keep track of the Sun.
Poor Will’s Almanack for 2018 is now available. Order yours from Amazon, or, for an autographed copy, order from www.poorwillsalmanack.com. And you can purchase my book, Home is the Prime Meridian: Essays on Time and Place and Spirit, from the same sites. The essay collection contains many of the selections heard on this radio segment.
