Friday, January 29, 2010

Signs of Spring Calendar - Last 2 Weeks of January 2010

Here is a calendar that shows some possible signs of Spring for northeastern Mass.
3rd Week

• January 14th Sunrise 7:11AM Sun sets 4:36PM Length of day 9 hours 25 minutes.
• January 15th – new moon.
• Jan. 20th - St. Agnes Eve. This night traditionally marks the change from the bitter chill from the bitter chill of winter to the warming trends of late winter. Read the poem, “The Eve of St. Agnes” by John Keats.
• January thaw. Watch for honey bee flights and other insects.
• Look for the gray pellets of owls on the snow under pine trees.
• Watch for twigs that have nipped off by rabbits. Ragged twig ends have been chewed off by deer.
• Listen to the stillness of a winter night.
• Watch for Orion the Hunter in the southeastern sky and other winter constellations if the night is clear.

4th Week
• If snows are heavy, stock your feeders. Watch for mammal tracks around your feeder: skunks, possums, cats, and squirrels.
• This is Woodpecker season. Put out suet and watch for Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied woodpeckers.
• Bear cubs are born about this time.
• On a winter walk in old fields and woodlands, watch for the pupae and egg cases of butterflies, moths, and other insects.
• A Cooper’s hawk may be keeping an eye on the birdfeeder, looking for small- and medium-sized meals as big as blue jays and mourning doves.
• January 27th – Sunrise 7:03AM Sunset 4:52PM Length of day 9 hours and 49 minutes
• Januarty 27th. Mars makes its closest approach to the earth tonight.
• January 30th – Full moon. 1:18AM. Wolf moon.
I have modeled this after, and drawn heavily from, Mass. Audubon's Monthly Calendar in their Sanctuary magazine.
Here is a link to Mass Audubon's Outdoor Almanac. found on their website.

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