Old Farmers Almanac - The Old Farmers Almanac 2021

Established in 1792 and published every year thereafter

R OBERT B. T HOMAS , founder (17661846)

Y ANKEE P UBLISHING I NC .

EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES

P.O. Box 520, 1121 Main Street, Dublin, NH 03444

Phone: 603-563-8111 Fax: 603-563-8252

EDITOR (13th since 1792): Janice Stillman

ART DIRECTOR: Colleen Quinnell

MANAGING EDITOR: Jack Burnett

SENIOR EDITORS: Sarah Perreault, Heidi Stonehill

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Tim Clark, Benjamin Kilbride

WEATHER GRAPHICS AND CONSULTATION: AccuWeather, Inc.

V.P., NEW MEDIA AND PRODUCTION: Paul Belliveau

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS: David Ziarnowski

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Brian Johnson

SENIOR PRODUCTION ARTISTS: Jennifer Freeman, Janet Selle, Susan Shute

WEB SITE: ALMANAC.COM

SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR: Catherine Boeckmann

ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR: Christopher Burnett

NEW MEDIA DESIGNERS: Amy OBrien, Holly Sanderson

E-COMMERCE DIRECTOR: Alan Henning

PROGRAMMING: Peter Rukavina

We welcome your questions and comments about articles in and topics for this Almanac. Mail all editorial correspondence to Editor, The Old Farmers Almanac, P.O. Box 520, Dublin, NH 03444-0520; fax us at 603-563-8252; or contact us through Almanac.com/Feedback. The Old Farmers Almanac can not accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and will not acknowledge any hard-copy queries or manuscripts that do not include a stamped and addressed return envelope.

Thank you for buying this Almanac! We hope that you find it useful, with a pleasant degree of humor. Thanks, too, to everyone who had a hand in it, including advertisers, distributors, printers, and sales and delivery people.

No part of this Almanac may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other) without written permission of the publisher.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Bob Berman, our astronomy editor, is the director of Overlook Observatory in Woodstock and Storm King Observatory in Cornwall, both in New York.

Tim Clark, a retired English teacher from New Hampshire, has composed the weather doggerel on the Calendar Pages since 1980.

Bethany E. Cobb, our astronomer, is an Associate Professor of Honors and Physics at George Washington University. She conducts research on gamma-ray bursts and specializes in teaching astronomy and physics to nonscience majoring students. When she is not scanning the sky, she enjoys rock climbing, figure skating, and reading science fiction.

Castle Freeman Jr. this year reprises his role as author of the Farmers Calendar essays, which he composed for more than 25 years. The essays come out of his interest in wildlife, the outdoors, and rural New England life.

Celeste Longacre, our astrologer, often refers to astrology as a study of timing, and timing is everything. A New Hampshire native, she has been a practicing astrologer for more than 25 years. Her book, Celestes Garden Delights (2015), is available for sale on her Web site, www.celestelongacre.com.

Michael Steinberg, our meteorologist, has been forecasting weather for the Almanac since 1996. In addition to college degrees in atmospheric science and meteorology, he brings a lifetime of experience to the task: He began predicting weather when he attended the only high school in the world with weather Teletypes and radar.

TOGETHER!

Hello, friends! Thank you for your support! Were happy to be celebrating another year, thanks to you: you, the folks who buy the Almanac; you, the advertisers who believe in our brand; you, the merchants who display and sell the Almanac; you, the distributors and drivers who deliver the Almanac to stores or directly to readers; you, our printers; you, our circulation partners; you, our contributors and colleagues. We thank you!

For 229 years, through all kinds of literal and figurative weather, you have turned to us for advice, wisdom, and a reason to smile. Exceeding your expectations continues to be our purpose: Our dedication to being useful, with a pleasant degree of humor is unwavering, now and into the future.

Indeed, this Almanac, the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, is a sturdy thread sewing together more than two centuries of human experience.

Today this strand stitches the printed pages of this book to the limitless world of Almanac.com, where you can easily explore a tapestry of information on thousands of pages about gardening, astronomy, weather, nature, food and cooking, home remedies, pet care, puzzles, humor, and much, much more.

Peruse these digital pages, cycle through the seasons with our free e-newsletter, or connect with a question or comment at any time. Reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Were here for you, with you, because of you.

Together, let us not lose sight of the wonders of the natural world, for we are forever linked to it and through it. Consider the words of the seventh editor of this Almanac, Horace Ware, in the 1919 edition:

If the reader of this Almanac shall achieve the calmness of mind so often induced by a study of the heavens, with their vastness of time and space, or if, in contemplating the changing seasons, with their perpetual renewing of life, he shall be brought into closer contact with Mother Nature and a better realization of her healing processes ... then we are content.

It is the eternal truth of these notions that continues to connect us with you.

J. S., J UNE 2020

However, it is by our works and not our words that we would be judged. These, we hope, will sustain us in the humble though proud station we have so long held in the name of

Your obedient servant,

A CALENDAR OF THE HEAVENS FOR 2021

The Calendar Pages are the heart of The Old Farmers Almanac. They present sky sightings and astronomical data for the entire year and are what make this book a true almanac, a calendar of the heavens. In essence, these pages are unchanged since 1792, when Robert B. Thomas published his first edition. The long columns of numbers and symbols reveal all of natures precision, rhythm, and glory, providing an astronomical look at the year 2021.

HOW TO USE THE CALENDAR PAGES

The astronomical data on the Calendar Pages and enter your zip code. While youre there, print the months Sky Map, useful for viewing with Sky Watch in the Calendar Pages.

For a list of 2021 holidays and observances, see .

ABOUT THE TIMES: All times are given in ET (Eastern Time), except where otherwise noted as AT (Atlantic Time, +1 hour), CT (Central Time, 1), MT (Mountain Time, 2), PT (Pacific Time, 3), AKT (Alaska Time, 4), or HAT (Hawaii-Aleutian Time, 5). Between 2:00 A.M. , March 14, and 2:00 A.M. , November 7, Daylight Saving Time is assumed in those locales where it is observed.