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May 2025
"Motherhood: All love begins and ends there"
- Robert Browning (1812—1889)
Mid-Atlantic Weather Watch: rain and thunderstorms, then cooler and dry followed by more seasonable temperatures (1, 2, 3, 4, 5); very warm and dry, then heavy rain and turning cooler (6, 7, 8, 9, 10); very warm and dry at first, then rain and thunderstorms, followed by much cooler weather (11, 12, 13, 14, 15); seasonably warm with occasional rain, then dry and pleasant (16, 17, 18, 19, 20); dry and turning hot, then showers and cooler (21, 22, 23, 24, 25); dry and turning warmer, then periodic downpours followed by dry and cooler weather (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31).
Extreme Weather Watch: The Almanac sees heavy rains (1, 2, 10, 26, 27, 28, 29) and severe thunderstorms (14, 15, 16).
Full Moon: May’s Full Moon occurs on Monday, May 12th. Its name depends upon who you’re talking to. To many Native American tribes, it was called Flower Moon, due to the many flowers starting to blossom during this month while the Huron tribes specifically chose to call it Budding Moon for the very same reasons! But if you asked a colonial farmer, he would say it was Mike Moon because of the noticeable increase in milk produced by his dairy cows in the month of May.
Holidays: Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on Monday, May 5th. Mothers are honored on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11th. That ‘very special lady" needs to be treated like royalty today, so plan a nice dinner out, send her a sentimental card with a nice arrangement of flowers, or just give her a telephone call to say, "I love you"! Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 26th. On this day, we honor those who have died in defense of our freedoms. Their unyielding service and sacrifice protect our way of life every single day!
The Garden: Early flowering deciduous shrubs such as Forsythias, Weigela, and Spirea should be pruned back when they have finished blooming. Cut back a third of the oldest canes to ground level, then cut back one third of the remaining branches by one third of their height.
Work lime in the soil around your Hydrangeas to produce pink flowers or Aluminum Sulphate for blue blooms. May is a good month to repair your lawn. Fill in the bare spots by slightly loosening surface of the soil and sow a good quality lawn seed over the area evenly. Tamp the seed in gently and water. Keep the patch moist by covering with light mulch of lawn clippings. Also, this is the time to eliminate lawn weeds by hand pulling, or the application of a 'weed and feed' fertilizer.... before they go to seed! Setting your mower for a higher cut during the spring months will help the grass to grow in fuller and help choke out the weeds
The Farm: Best for planting root crops (25, 26); weeding and stirring the soil (27, 28, 31); planting above-ground crops (1, 2, 29, 30); harvesting all crops (13, 14, 15); best days for setting hens and incubators (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20); slaughtering and butchering meat (1, 2, 3, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31); harvest and store grains (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25); Transplanting (1, 2, 3, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31); weaning of small animals and livestock (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22).
J. Gruber’s Thought For Today’s Living
"While the truth may be painful to hear today, the wise man will benefit from it tomorrow"
Index of Past Month's Entries
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