Exploring Nature: Old Farmer’s A lmanac
I recently purchased my very first copy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, a storied publication that has been around since 1792.
Perusing this 257-page book, I was pleased to see a listing of flowers that attract hummingbirds – including bee balm, larkspur, petunia and scarlet sage.
Only problem is that my hummingbirds have departed for points south, probably Mexico or even Brazil. They’ll hopefully be back next March; usually my first hummer shows up on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
Thanks to the almanac, I know what to plant to attract more of them.
In the meantime, I’ll miss the little rascals. I had grown used to seeing them buzzing around my sugar-water feeder.
Other useful tips from the old farmer: Raise the level of your lawn-mower blades during the hot summer days. Taller grass resists drought better than short.
A good substitute for honey in a recipe is pure maple syrup.
To kill weeds in driveway cracks and between bricks and stones, just pour a mixture of boiling salted water over them.
The old farmer predicts Texas will have a warmer than usual winter and winter precipitation will be below normal. (Last winter’s almanac forecasts were 83.3% correct.)
One final bit of information from the Old Farmer’s Almanac – most traditional food that we enjoy on Thanksgiving was not consumed at the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving meal in 1691. There were no mashed potatoes because potatoes weren’t cultivated in North America until the 1700s. There was no cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie because sugar, flour and butter were in short supply.
Wild turkeys were on the menu and so was seafood, including eels and mussels.
All in all, these many years later, we have a lot to be thankful for in our great country.
I, for one, am thankful eels aren’t on my holiday menu.
