'Old Farmers Almanac' says to get ready for egg-standing equinox

Today is March 1, and a glance at my trusty “Old Farmer’s Almanac” tells me that we’ve got an interesting month ahead.

On or around March 9, hummingbirds will begin their annual migration north. This makes for a good time to get your back-yard hummingbird feeders ready, so that you can see some of these birds that have made their way to our neck of the woods from as far away as South America. One hummingbird a few years ago was tagged in Tallahassee, Florida and eventually made his way all the way to Alaska in less than a month.

Like a lot of people, I am looking forward to 2 a.m. on Sun., March 10, because that’s when Daylight Saving Time begins. We’ll set our clocks ahead one hour and enjoy an extra hour of daylight in the evenings. We’ll revert to standard time on Nov. 3.

The winter season will end and spring will begin with the Vernal Equinox on Tues., March 19, at 10:06 p.m. It’s said that you can stand an egg on end on this day, and I actually pulled it off on this day several years ago. Later, someone told me that if you’re sure-handed enough, you can stand an egg on end no matter what day of the year it is.

Good Friday this year will fall on March 29 with Easter to come on March 31. On the Saturday between these two holy days, the almanac says that chipmunks will begin to emerge from hibernation. While they aren’t seen very often, chipmunks do live throughout Alabama, except in swampy areas.

For the stargazers in the reading audience there will be much to see during the month of March. The planet Venus can be seen as a brilliant morning “star” all month, low in the southeast around 6:30 a.m. On March 7, between 5:45 a.m. and 6 a.m., Venus, the planet Mercury and the crescent Moon will alignment in the southeast sky.

At dawn on March 21, Venus will come close to the planet Saturn low in the east, but you’ll need binoculars for optimal viewing. Between midnight and dawn on March 25, a penumbral eclipse of the Moon will occur, but this is the type of eclipse in which the appearance of the full Moon doesn’t noticeably change. On March 29 at 6:30 a.m., you should be able to see Saturn halfway between low and brilliant Venus and much higher and much dimmer Mars.

The March full Moon, which will appear at 2 a.m. on March 25, is known as the Full Worm Moon. This first full Moon of spring takes its name from the fact that earthworms will begin to reappear and bring birds back out to feed. Close observers will also notice beetle larvae emerging from trees and other winter hiding places during this time.

In the end, there is more than a little weather folklore associated with the month of March. Perhaps my favorite is the saying that “So many mists in March you see, so many frosts in May will be.” In other words, if we wake up to foggy, misty mornings next month, we can likely look for colder than normal weather in May.