Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Tuesday 08-16-16

Farmers' Almanac predicts a teeth shattering 'ice cold' winter as it celebrates 200th anniversary

Hundreds of almanacs served a nation of farmers over two centuries ago. These days, only a handful of them remain.
One of them, the Farmers' Almanac based in Lewiston, Maine, is celebrating its 200th edition this month with traditional gardening tips, home-spun humor and life hacks. 
In New Hampshire, The Old Farmer's Almanac marks its 225th anniversary with tributes from President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among articles on mangrove forests and presidential beer preferences. Both have special anniversary sections with articles from the past.
In Maine, the long-term weather forecast calls for a teeth-chattering winter for the eastern two-thirds of the nation. 'We're calling it the return of the old-fashioned winter. The ice cold winter is back,' said Sandi Duncan, managing editor.
Above, the 2017 editions of New Hampshire's Old Farmer's Almanac, left, and Maine's Farmers' Almanac photographed in Concord, New Hampshire. The two publications, which will be released soon, are both celebrating milestones. Maine's 200 edition, and New Hampshire's 225.
Above, the 2017 editions of New Hampshire's Old Farmer's Almanac, left, and Maine's Farmers' Almanac photographed in Concord, New Hampshire. The two publications, which will be released soon, are both celebrating milestones. Maine's 200 edition, and New Hampshire's 225.
Janice Stillman, editor of the New Hampshire publication, said the coldest, snowiest conditions will be along the Canadian border, down through southern New England and the Appalachians.
'The irony to me is that the 'mitten' of Michigan will probably not need mittens this winter,' she said. 'They're the one spot along the border, really, that is predicted to be relatively mild.'
Cold temperatures also are expected for the rest of the country, but not as cold as the norm, with wet weather in California and Florida.
Modern scientists don't put much stock in the almanacs' unconventional weather formulas based on sunspots, tidal action, and other factors, but they are part of their tradition.
In Maine, Editor Peter Geiger blames an El Nino dubbed Godzilla by NASA for wrecking last year's prediction with unexpected warmth. 
Ray Geiger, editor of Farmers' Almanac in 1965, holds copies of editions from 1821 and 1966
Ray Geiger today holds up copies of the 1818 and 2017 Farmers' Almanac
Editor Ray Geiger, left in 1965, holds copies of editions from 1821 and 1966; (right) Geiger, still the editor, today holds up a copy of the 1818 edition and the upcoming 2017 edition
The 2017 anniversary edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the weather for the year and says New England will have an 'old fashioned' bone chilling season
The 2017 anniversary edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the weather for the year and says New England will have an 'old fashioned' bone chilling season
The Farmer's Almanac failed to predict the warm winter much of the country saw in 2015, blaming El Nino
The Farmer's Almanac failed to predict the warm winter much of the country saw in 2015, blaming El Nino

This winter, he says, there's no El Nino to foul up the weather prognostication. The Old Farmer's Almanac also acknowledged an incorrect interpretation of El Nino.
The almanac itself says its long-range weather predictions are 80 percent accurate, according to its website
Geiger said his almanac circulation is declining, but he's getting more eyeballs online, thanks to a new generation of backyard farmers interested in locally sourced produce, meat and eggs. 
The almanac has 1.1 million Facebook followers and sends an email blast to 250,000 readers each week. But it still publishes about three million printed editions, including retail and promotional versions.
Brutally cold winter predicted for 2017 by Farmers' Almanac
Brutally cold winter predicted for 2017 by Farmers' Almanac
The Farmers' Almanac of Maine predicts a return to the old fashioned brutally cold winter of yore for Canada all the way down through south New England and the Appalachian mountains
'It's full of good advice that's still relevant in a digital age,' said 24-year-old reader Chris McKellar, who manages a 180-acre ornamental plant farm in addition to growing produce for himself in southeastern Wisconsin.
The Farmers' Almanac was founded by David Young in New Jersey, and it never missed a beat when it moved to Maine in 1955. 
 The Old Farmer's Almanac, believed to be the oldest continually published periodical in North America, was founded by Robert B. Thomas. 
It also publishes an average of three million copies a year and has over 1.3 million Facebook followers.

Among Maine's articles from the past is one urging folks to remember 'old-fashioned neighborhoodliness' in the face of newfangled technology like cars, daily mail and telephones in 1923. 
Editors urged readers in 1834 to abandon tobacco and in 1850 promoted the common bean leaf to combat bed bugs, a pest that's making a comeback.
Some suggestions seem offbeat these days, like advocating the use of fireplace bellows to resuscitate drowning victims in 1855.
The Maine almanac had some forward-thinking advice for women in 1876, telling them to learn skills to avoid being dependent on finding a husband. 'It is better to be a woman than a wife, and do not degrade your sex by making your whole existence turn on the pivot of matrimony,' it counseled.
This year, the Old Farmer's Almanac included 'candid' commentaries from celebrities on their favorite, most useful, and least favorite parts. Lots liked the ads and puzzles.
'Um, I'm a big eater. I like the recipes,' said Bill McKibben, a writer and environmentalist in Vermont.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson said he enjoyed the 'Anecdotes & Pleasantries' section. The most useless? 'The jokes. They're lame.
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3740126/Test-time-2-almanacs-celebrate-milestone-anniversaries.html

No comments:

Post a Comment