August fogs: Harbingers of snows of winter
With the days of August, we also see the advent of foggy mornings. They are a subtle sign of what could be in store for us this winter. My Northampton County grandma believed fogs during August predicted the snows and amounts of snows that would fall during the coming winter. A light fog would predict a light snow and heavy fog predicted a heavy snow. She was an early riser so she would check the fogs each August morning. She would keep an accurate record of the date, and density of each fog whether light, heavy, or medium for each day of the month. At the end of August, she would tally up her number of fogs and compare her findings with actual snowfalls during the winter months.
Checking the hardware for a new snow shovel
With the mention of snow predictions, it’s not a a bad idea that we consider purchasing a new snow shovel. We know two things for sure and one is the fact that you will not have any problem finding a snow shovel at this season of the year and the other thing is they will not spoil.
The dews of midsummer getting wetter, thicker
The dew is hanging around longer during August’s mid summer mornings and lingers on the lawn until the afternoon. The dew of mid summer is also very sticky. As the month progresses the dews will not only get wetter but they will get cooler. On Saturday, August 24, we will celebrate St. Bartholomew’s Day and it is said that on his special day, the dew really starts to get colder each morning thereafter and it will continue to do so every morning until the frost arrives in October. This is one of the early signs of autumn.
Do not mow the lawn until sun dries the dew
August dew is sticky and lingers all morning and even into the early part of the afternoon. Never mow the lawn when dew is upon the grass. Wet dew will stick to your feet and cause you track grass clippings into the house. Wet dew will pile up under the mower’s housing and promote rust. This wet dew will also come out the chute and the cut grass will make a mess on the lawn that will cause extra labor in raking up wet grass clippings. Wait until the sun dries off the dew even if it takes all afternoon.
Crickets and katydids sing autumn serenades
From up in the mighty oaks the katydids strum with their legs a solemn song of the upcoming autumn solstice. The song gets louder each evening as they sense that a seasonal change is just over the seasonal horizon. the crickets on the lawn are also chirping their song in time with the temperature that drops a bit at night now that dog days will soon come to a close and dews get colder and heavier.
The final week of dog days 2021
Dog days will come to an end on Wednesday, August 11. The end of dog days marks the mid point of summer which means we still have plenty of hot days remaining even though the humidity may ease off a bit. The days of harvest are here and warm August days will help tomatoes turn red and make late green beans mature.
A cool thought
As the month of August started, we celebrated Saint Lammas. A legend of Saint Lammas says if the week of his day is steamy, we can expect winter to be white and creamy — a sober thought with a week of dog days remaining. We don’t buy into the prediction of Lamma’s creamy white forecast for winter of 2021, but we will cross our fingers for a white Christmas!
Handling the tomato harvest in August
During August, there may be some dry days without an afternoon thunderstorm. This can cause birds to peck holes in tomatoes in their quest for moisture. To prevent loss of tomatoes, harvest tomatoes just before they reach ripe stage and place them on the porch or deck to progress to the stage of ripeness you desire. If the heat of August causes the tomatoes to crack, harvest them when they are half ripe and allow them to ripen on the deck or the porch away from direct sunlight.
The sweet bell pepper harvest is ready
Sweet bell peppers are beginning to ripen and will continue to do so until frost. They are very easy to freeze and to use in salads, spaghetti, chili sauce and other recipes all winter. To freeze all you have to do is wash the peppers, cut off the tops, remove the seed clusters, cut into quarter inch wide strips and then dice into quarter inch squarer pieces and place pieces it pint or quart plastic containers and place in the freezer. In winter, you can enjoy what you need from a container and thaw them out for any recipe or for a recipe like chili, spaghetti, or chili and beans you can pour the frozen pepper into the pot of ingredients. For great spaghetti sauce, pour frozen peppers into the blender, place blender speed in “grate” mode, this works very well also in a meat loaf recipe.
Pickled sweet jalapeno peppers
This jalapeno recipe can be prepared and processed in pint canning jars. You will need jalapeno peppers, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, minced dried onion flakes, celery seed, pickling spices, and dill pickle seed. Measure the number of pints of peppers, leaving half inch of stem on the peppers , wash the peppers. Hold the peppers by the stem and make slits in the sides of the peppers to absorb the vinegar mix. Holding the jalapenos by the stems while slitting them will prevent the burning of your hands by the peppers. Measure half vinegar, half water for each pint jar, add two tablespoons sugar, one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon minced dried onion, half teaspoon dill seed, half teaspoon celery seed, two teaspoons pickling spice for each pint. Boil the vinegar solution for four or five minutes. Place peppers in sterilized pint jars, add the vinegar mix to cover the peppers and seal the jars with rings and lids. Process in a hot water bath canner for five minutes.
Residue from summer harvest
After the harvest of summer vegetables, use the spent vines, stalks and other residue from the garden as ingredients for the compost pile or bin. Run the mower over the spent vines, stalks, and foliage before adding to the compost pile or bin. Add some Plant-Tone organic vegetable food, Black Kow composted cow manure, Alaska fish emulsion mixed with proper amount of water (make enough for a gallon). This will heat up the compost. Add water to the compost each week. Stir the compost twice a week.
Atale for the last of dog days
This dog day tale says that during the heat of the dog days , if on a morning during dog days, a dog eats grass, we can expect rain before the day ends. My grandma in Northampton County had several hounds that she kept an eye on during summer mostly because she put a little stock in the legend that dogs go mad during summer’s dog days. We don’t know what her thoughts were on dogs eating grass being a sign of rain later in the day, but we do know her thoughts on dogs eating grass and they were: Dogs eat grass because they are sick. That makes sense because in grandma’s day people used home remedies and rarely went to doctors. If they didn’t go to the doctor, surely they did not take dogs to the vet. They probably used home remedies on their dogs. When it didn’t work, the dogs would doctor themselves and eat grass. The Lord takes care of his creatures!
Making a peach crunch delight
This recipe is very easy for a dog day supper and it has only a few ingredients. You will need three one-pound cans of sliced peaches (with liquid), one cup sugar, one box yellow cake mix, one stick light margarine, one tub Cool Whip. Pour peaches mixed with one cup sugar into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan or dish. Sprinkle the cake mix over the top. Melt a stick and a half of light margarine and pour over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until top layer is crunchy. Cool and top with a layer of Cool whip.
Hoe hoe hoedown
“Something fishy.” A house wife walked into the fish market, peered into the display case and said, “I don’t like the looks of that fish.” “Well madam” said the clerk, “by the way he’s looking at you, he doesn’t like your looks to much easier!”
“All washed up.” The teacher assigned his class to write a composition on the subject of baseball. Most of the kids liked baseball and wrote a couple of pages on the subject. When the papers were handed in, the teacher was pleased with all of the compositions but one. One kid had written his composition with just three words: “Game rained out!”
“A glimpse into the future.” Matt-“Do you think its possible to predict the future?” Melody-“My mother can. She takes one look at my report card and tells me exactly what Dad is going to do to me when he gets home!”