My favourite section of the The Old Farmer’s Almanac is the weather predictions. And after our dreary, rainy summer, I quickly flipped to the 2011 almanac’s weather pages hoping for a ray of sunshine.
Nope. It’s not coming. Due to “the prolonged low level of sunspot and space weather activity in the early stages of Solar Cycle 24,” the upshot of it is that the Prairies can expect to see colder than normal temperatures and heavier than average snowfall. And next summer won’t get any better. It will be cool and dry.
Harrumph.
This humble outhouse companion, first established in 1792 by Robert B. Thomas, has provided numerous generations of readers with tide calendars, astrological reports and planting season guides.
This year, its gardening corner provides a two-page wrap-up of the health benefits of various plant pigments. Divided into four colour classes, they are condensed, easy to read and ever so practical.
They even have fun with a special feature on “plantimals,” a series of flora and fauna that share the same name. For instance, did you know the toad lily is both a delicate Asiatic flower with purple and white petals, and a bug-eyed, yellow amphibian with green spots.
Anyone with a mind that enjoys trivia will dive into the Facts Behind the Folklore section. Find out why fish bite before a storm, why it will snow seven days after it thunders in winter and why silver maple leaves turn over in a storm.
This year, editors have even pulled together a short feature on good etiquette and how it’s changed from days of yore paired with how we handle conversation, something that is increasingly being dealt with technology.
And just in time for hockey season, there’s a piece on the 10-best goals in Canadian history. Once more, savour the great plays of Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky and Bashin’ Bill Barilko to name a few.
But while most of the articles are interesting, they are usually so short they lack depth. One section that deals with amusing trends usually prints them in point form. But each trend is dealt with in less than three lines and it sometimes leaves you wondering what the heck editors are intending to say.
This 256-page read is available in print at bookstores and grocery outlets and as a digital version at www.Almanac.com/Store.
