Dear Daily Planner,
Let’s talk about February. It’s the shortest of all months, arguably the most difficult to spell, and downright cold in most parts of the country. This isn’t to say that February is without benefits. Every four years, February gives us an extra day. No other month does that! February is also essential for summer vegetation. From our 1919 edition of the The Old Farmer’s Almanac:
Snow permits the penetration of a measure of sunlight, conserves moisture and replenishes it, and, in divers other ways, while loose and not hardened, is of advantage to soil and consequently to vegetation.
Even with the desire to remain indoors and let the snow do its work, February offers ample opportunity to plan, to ponder, or to paint your living room. Yup. You read that right. As the Moon influences our tides, it can also influence our activities.
For instance, did you know that planning by the Moon can help you catch fish? It’s true. Fish tend to be more active during a full Moon, and the best days for fishing throughout the month are when the Moon is between new and full. In February, the fish should be biting until the 19th.
Planting by the Moon’s phase is another age-old tradition that, depending on where you live, you can start taking advantage of this month. Across the southern U.S., the Moon is favorable for planting brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and a few other vegetables as early as February 11. Less than a week later, on the 15th, the Moon becomes favorable for planting barley, broccoli, cauliflower, and four more common crops. |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
| From Fact to Fiction? Finding the Best Days for Everything You Do | We use astrology to plan events according to the placements of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets in the 12 signs of the zodiac. It’s worth noting that in astrology, the planetary movements don’t cause events; rather, they explain the path, or “flow,” that events tend to follow.
While we can attribute better fishing or planting to scientific reasons, can the Sun and Moon really make that much difference in other parts of our lives? After all, going fishing or planting broccoli is one thing. Using astrology to decide when to wash our floors? It could, of course, just be folklore, but it can’t hurt to plan your activities based on the Moon’s signs. It just might help, and it’s certainly fun. Besides, when did a little luck ever hurt anyone?
So when are those best days? Well, if you want to quit smoking, right now is a great time to start stopping, but the 20th and 25th are the best days this month. Those also happen to be the two best days to begin a diet to lose weight. And in case you don’t think that the Moon is indeed a wise (and perhaps wily) old soul, let it be known that when you’re cutting back on both your food and your smoking, you can work out your feelings by demolishing something, since February 23 to 25 are the best days for that. Then relax and go camping on the 26th or 27th.
What else can you do this month? February 17 and 18 are the best days for traveling for pleasure this month, while the 11th and 12th are the best days to color your hair. If you like baking, plan to spend time in the kitchen on February 15 and 16 and make your sauerkraut from February 23 to 25. Oh, and washing your floors? February 6 and 7 are your days!
Wondering what the best days are for setting eggs in February? March? The best days to start a project this month—or next? You’ll have to take a look in The Old Farmer’s Almanac to find those. We can’t give everything away here. (Our accounting department said so.) |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
| Did You Know? | Ever wonder why we spell February the way we do? February comes from the Latin februa, “to cleanse.” The Roman Februalia was a festival of purification and atonement that took place during this time of year. Perhaps we still celebrate that, in a way, on February 14, Valentine’s Day. Is it reasonable to believe that love is a form of purification? February is also a time of new beginnings as the start of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Pig).
There’s another celebration to look forward to this month, as well! Grand Canyon National Park was established 100 years ago on February 26. And according to folklore, skunks start mating on the 24th. If that’s not cause for celebration, we don’t know what is! |  | | The Skies in February | Another celebration of sorts occurs on Tuesday, February 19, as the full Moon (also known as the Snow Moon) rises high into the night sky. After this month, the full Moon will begin appearing lower on the horizon as we head toward summer.
Mars is also visible throughout February just as darkness falls. Appearing bright orange, Mars stands halfway up the southwestern sky. To the left of Mars, Uranus is just visible to the naked eye in unpolluted skies early and again late in the month. If you’re using binoculars, it is easily identified as the only green “star” as you move leftward from Mars.
Whether you want to discover the best days to view the planets, the best days for pruning your trees, or the best days and times for fishing, you can get them as well as much more useful information, wit, and wisdom, with an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Membership! |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership, you’ll get the handsome hardcover 2019 edition of the Almanac, the full-color monthly EXTRA! digital magazine with information about the best days for all your activities throughout the year and other content not found in the print edition, plus a bundle of bonuses. With anOld Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership, you’ll learn more about:
- The best days for viewing Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury
- When to expect solar and lunar eclipses this year
- The differences between astrology and astronomy, plus some interesting facts and stories about each
- The age-old practice of planting your crops according the Moon’s phase
| | Get full access to everything under the Sun, including the Moon, weather, vegetable and flower gardening, folklore, nature, home remedies, and more —with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership! | Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership! This new and exciting club is designed especially for you—and it’s packed with articles, advice, best days, facts, and fun that you cannot get anywhere else!
Your Charter Membership gives you all the elements of a true almanac—a “calendar of the heavens” and a “time capsule of the year” for 2019, plus some bonuses when you join today. More about those bonuses in a minute.
Since 1792—in fact, every day since!—The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been trusted and enjoyed by folks from all walks of life: people who grow their own food depend on the planting dates; home cooks, gardeners, and folks hungry for something quick and delicious love the recipes; just about everybody checks on the Moon phases and sunrise and set times … as well as the weather forecasts … to know what to expect on any given day, week, month, or season.
With The Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership, you’ll have content that is both useful and humorous. You’ll discover quirky facts, timeless adages and advice, amusing quotes and profound proverbs, contests, Anecdotes and Pleasantries, Best Days to do things (from fishing to weaning from planting to setting eggs, for example), and so much more!
Your Charter Membership gives you everything that you’ve come to expect and depend on in an Almanac—valuable and accurate content and advice. In fact, fulfillment of readers’ expectations has made our Almanac the best-known and most sought-after Almanac for generations.
Did you know? The Old Farmer’s Almanac is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America! We got started with this valuable content in 1792—when George Washington was president and the U.S. Post Office Department was first established . . . and we’ve been at it ever since then, for 227 years! |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
People always ask how and why our Almanac has lasted—and continues to be a best seller. The answer is simple: We stay true to the original mission of founder Robert B. Thomas, who declared in an early edition, “Our main endeavor is to be useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.”
We believe that, especially in today’s trying times, finding humor and enjoyment in daily life is important and can be uplifting, and we hope you like our light-hearted fun and find the joy in chuckling at our witty and inspiring words.
This will make you smile, too: Every edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac is fresh, new, and designed to make the year one of the best ever. How do we do that? With entertaining and informative articles. For example: | | Want to know about the most fun and fascinating trends for 2019? Here’s a hint: We’ll be exercising in the grocery stores, we’ll be drinking banana milk, shopping in stores with “quiet hours,” and decorating with “scratch-and-sniff” wallpaper. Are you a vegetable gardener or want to be one? Many gardeners consider the Almanac their most valuable tool, so this year, for all of you trying to grow food we’ve got foolproof advice that promises a harvest the first year and every one thereafter. Perhaps you grow flowers—or want to: In the 2019 Almanac, you’ll learn which flowers are edible, when to pick them, and how to use them (e.g., pick apple blossoms in late spring and sprinkle them onto a Waldorf salad, all summer use impatiens as a garnish). |
|
But that’s just the beginning! Here’s just some of what else you’ll discover in the 2019 Almanac:
- The Faces of Farming: ambitious folks from across the country tell about how they got started, the hurdles they faced, and the rewards of working the land
- Timetables and advice for spotting meteor showers, bright stars, conjunctions, and other fascinating astronomical events
- Best days for planting, pruning, weeding, grafting, and controlling pests, plus the easiest-ever soil test (all you need is a pair of men’s clean, white, 100% cotton underwear and a small shovel)
- Daily weather forecasts for all regions of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii
- Fresh new ways to savor the asparagus, beet, corn, and cucumber harvests, with “The ABCs of Pickling”
- Easy, delicious, and Almanac prize-winning recipes using oranges
- "Adventures in the Zodiac Zone"—what’s behind the Sun and Moon?
- A look back at "The Day the Sun Exploded"—and a look forward to how it could happen again
- The “full” explanation of if and why more strange things happen during a full Moon than at other times.
- Facts, folklore, and traditions in “Telling the Bees”—Did you know that beekeepers often invite their bees to weddings?
- Thinking of getting a pig, a cow, a goat, or maybe chickens? Or know someone who is? You do not want to miss “The Pros and Cons of Backyard Livestock.”
- Why a Dog May be Your Best Medicine—and your child’s, too!
- The Story of Baseball’s Most Amazin' Season, with the “Miracle Mets”
- "How to Make Sausage at Home"- It’s easier than you think, especially if you make patties instead of links
- All this and too much more to mention for 288 pages of riveting content!
Plus, the Almanac’s easy-to-follow charts, maps, and photos bring it all to life for you—making it all easy to understand and use. |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
| An Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership will deliver exciting rewards for you—and for a special introductory rate, HALF-OFF right now, to all new Charter Members. | When you join today, you’ll ensure that you get the latest details about Almanac events and forecasts—and you’ll enjoy all these benefits: - Your best garden ever—Almanac gardening advice, planting dates, time-saving tips, and detailed guidance from experts will get you growing like never before.
- You’ll know in advance about every important astronomical event in 2019—when they’re happening, where in the sky, and the details and delights of each one.
- You’ll have access to the world’s best source of Almanac content—from astronomy and weather to anniversaries and milestone dates; from important (and little known) holidays and religious events to traditional days in calendar folklore.
- You’ll save time and money when you follow all the practical advice and tips that we deliver to you about everything from gardening to food preparation and cooking.
- You’ll be a weather expert in your family and circle of friends—no one else you know will have the detailed knowledge about forecasting and weather that you’ll have . . . and for every region of the country!
How can you not consider becoming an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Member? | | What you’ll get with an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership. | When you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership today, your Charter membership will include:
- The Old Farmer’s 2019 Almanac—Our newest edition, the hard-copy version will be shipped to you right away with everything you’ve come to expect from the world’s premier almanac.
- Bonus #1: The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2019 Gardening Wall Calendar. Lovely to look at, fun to use! Each month features a beautiful full-color original illustration of seasonal plant or animal life, as well as timeless gardening secrets and advice, folklore, fun facts, and holidays—plus Moon phases to help you use the “Planting by the Moon” chart and have your best garden ever!
- Bonus #2: The Old Farmer’s Almanac 1819 edition— A printed version will be shipped to you with your order. Take a trip down memory lane and see what one of our early Almanacs looked like! It’s a time capsule of life 200 years ago!
- Bonus #3: The Old Farmer’s Almanac 1919 edition—A printed version will be shipped to you with your order. Another classic Almanac, this takes you back a century: Compare the content then and now!
- Bonus #4: The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! —A treasure trove of digital updates and Almanac content not found in the printed edition, including audio and video multimedia content. EXTRA! is far more interactive and fun than plain printed pages!
And all of this is available to you—right now—when you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership.
What are you waiting for? Half-off this Charter Membership offer is in effect for you right now!
No other Almanac has so many fun and fascinating facts, timely and accurate events and predictions, and topical and useful articles all in one place for your easy access and use—and covering more regions of North America than any other almanac or resource! |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
| Why not join right now? | Gardeners, weather and sky watchers, and nature lovers everywhere have been enjoying The Old Farmer’s Almanac for generations, and now it’s easier than ever for YOU to experience it all with an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership.
When we created this new club for folks like you, we wanted to make it easy to use, easy to order, and packed with content and value—that’s why we named it the “Best Value Club”! The Almanac is the ultimate resource for gardening, astronomy, folklore, nature, and more, and now it can be all yours with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership. |
|
|
|
HALF-PRICE Introductory Offer is Now in Effect!
Special limited-time Charter Membership offer for you right now!
When you respond today, you’ll be among a select group of Almanac friends to take advantage of this special Charter Membership offer.
Activate your Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club today, and you’ll get access to unique almanac content that you can’t find anywhere else—plus four bonuses!
Join other weather and astronomy watchers, gardeners, nature and food lovers, and trivia fans—for half-off when you respond today!
This is a limited-time offer that you should take advantage of right now. |
|
|
|
Why not be among the first—gardeners in your neighborhood; weather and astronomy watchers under the Sun; cooks in your community; trivia fans in your circle; nature-lovers in your area—to join us today and benefit from all the valuable Almanac information that you simply cannot get anywhere else?
Become an Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club Charter Member today—while this special HALF-PRICE offer lasts!
Sincerely,
Janice Stillman
Editor, The Old Farmer’s Almanac
P.S. You should act today to claim your Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Value Club—while 2019 copies of the Almanac are still fresh . . . and to get your bonuses, too! |
|
|
|
| HALF-PRICE Offer Now in Effect!
Special Charter Membership Invitation for You:
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club! |
|
Get Your Special Pass—
Access to the World's Most Beloved Almanac | | Be among the first to claim your Old Farmer's Almanac Best Value Club Charter Membership—become a Charter Member today! | |
|
| The "Best Value Club" is really an incredible value! | |
|
|
|
|
