"The heart has its reasons which reason does not understand"
                                      Blaise pascal (1912-1977)

For the month of February, temperatures will be below average with

Precipitation to be above average.

Weather watch: Partly cloudy, flurries (1,2,3) turning fair but very cold (4,5,6,7). Snow or rain (8,9,10) with fair and very cold weather (11,12,13). More snow or rain (14,15) turning fair and cold again (16,17,18,19). Still more snow, stormy (20,21). Fair and cold (22,23,24,25 with heavy snow (26,27) with windy, cold

Tornado watch: The Almanack sees no tornado activity for the month of February.

Full moon: February's full moon has become known as the hunger moon because of the great difficulty in finding food in the region at this time of the year. It has also been called the snow moon because snow is often the deepest in certain parts of the world during this month. February's full moon will occur on the 12th at 11:44pm.

Special notes: Be sure to wear adequate sunscreen and eyewear for the winter activity of your choice. The battle hymn of the republic, a poem by Julia Ward Howe was first published in the Atlantic monthly on February 1st, 1862.

Holidays: Watch for "Punxsutawney Phil" to make his prediction on the coming of spring on ground hog day, Thursday, February 2nd. Do something special for your sweetheart on valentine's day, Tuesday, February 14th and be sure to honor Washington and Lincoln on president's day, Monday, February 20th.

The garden: Spring is right around the corner (despite the cold weather and snow!). keep tabs on all of your houseplants. They need special attention being kept indoors for so long. Check to be sure they have enough humidity and don't dry out and check for pests. Cut branches of flowering shrubs like forsythia, pussy willow, quince, and magnolia and bring inside for forcing. Inspect those hemlocks for overwintering woolly adelgid! Begin to do some light pruning on those days when you can smell spring. Make sure to seal all cuts well. Stay away from birches and maple for now; they often bleed sap when cut this time of year. They should be pruned in late summer or early fall.

J. Grubers' thought for today's living:

"Meeting a person more then half way will often repay you many times in the future"