Editors' Musings
September 17, 2018
What should you do in case of a power outage? Having survived many power outages, here are some of our best survival tips—before, during, and after a power outage.
Tornadoes, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, flooding, and extreme weather events can easily knock out power in your home. But even an animal or too many A/C units on the power grid can cause a power outage.
Deal first with the biggest safety issues: bringing light to the dark, staying warm and dry, and providing food to yourself and... more
April 26, 2018
I love to watch the hummingbirds at my bird feeders. A friend told me hummingbirds are more attracted to red feeders. So, I tried an experiment.
I have a bird feeder close to my deck and another one is hanging on my front porch. I had noticed wasps around the feeder and very little hummingbird activity. My friend suggested that I paint feeder red.
One weekend, I used some red spray paint and painted the feeder all red.
Like magic, the hummingbirds were back, and the wasps were gone! This isn’t... more
January 5, 2018
Snowshoes have come a long way since their origins some 7,000 years ago. Back then, it’s safe to guess that snowshoeing was not considered a leisure winter sport.
In fact, without even researching it much, I can safely wager that snowshoes were made so that people could survive winter. You know: head out, forage for food, return home with a dead animal—also known as “dinner for the family.”
Times have changed. And so have snowshoes.
Originally, snowshoes were made from wood and rawhide.... more
July 16, 2017
Ready for a road trip? Here are eight places to see the 2017 total solar eclipse at its finest. From wide-open western skies to small towns to the eclectic, there are some great destinations for eclipse watchers.
You can only see the total solar eclipse from a location which is on the “path of totality,” a 70-mile band that crosses the United States from Oregon to South Carolina. On this path, the Sun will be completely blocked out. Otherwise, it may very well look like an ordinary day.
What’s... more
July 4, 2017
Ever wondered how books are made? The Almanac for Kids is hot off the press, just in time for summer reading! Take a peek inside the printing process and then take a look inside the book!
A Very Short History of Printing
People have been reading books for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians pounded the stems of papyrus to make sheets of paper-like material and then wrote on it. They also glued papyrus sheets together to make scrolls. Eventually, people shifted from scrolls to pages by either... more
January 11, 2017
Wonder what’s soaring in the sky? It may be a bird of prey. Here are pictures of a few common raptors to help you identify them!
I had the opportunity to see four live birds of prey at a presentation by the Indiana Raptor Center—a non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitation of sick and injured birds of prey.
First, it’s important to know what is meant by “bird of prey.” They are predatory birds which kill their food—with their feet!
At the end of their toes are talons—needle-sharp... more
August 31, 2016
There’s just something about a cloud, how it floats across the sky and constantly changes shape and size and color, drawing your eyes upward to watch, even for the briefest moment during a busy day.
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s …?
Sometimes you can find recognizable shapes in clouds, such as a sailboat, a spear of broccoli, or even a Tyrannosaurus rex. The term for this leisurely sleuthing activity is nephelococcygia, which is a word that comes from the Greek nephelo,... more
May 20, 2016
Cicadas do not have red coats like the colonial British soldiers had, but many sport red eyes and appear in large numbers.
These large flying insects with broad heads and clear wings are often mistaken for locusts, but are more closely related to treehoppers and lack the large hind legs found in the majority of grasshoppers and locusts.
Two Kinds of Cicadas
Cicadas are grouped into two main types. The “nonperiodical” or “annual” type are found in many parts of North America and hang around each... more
May 17, 2016
Gardening in the woods can be a challenge, especially when you love plants and flowers. But near the forest is where I choose to live; it provides great shelter for many birds and critters that we love to watch, so I don’t intend to clear the property of a lot of trees just to have a huge garden.
Instead, my ultimate goal is to create a series of smaller gardens that blend with the existing landscape, which is full of ferns, mosses, and evergreens, and to use this natural growth to enhance some... more
May 8, 2016
With a Phillips screwdriver and some inexpensive hardware-store washers that cost a dime or so, you’ll fix those annoying loose knobs and pulls on your kitchen cabinets in no time!
Ten-cent Fix for a Loose Knob
Most knobs and pulls are attached on the backside of your cupboard doors and drawers with a standard-length, threaded screw. When the door or drawer is not thick enough for the screw to tighten the knob flush against it, grasping that perpetually wobbly knob each day can be an enduring ... more
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Your Old Farmer’s Almanac editors occasionally share our reflections, advice, and musings—and welcome your comments!
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