"The phrase ’working mother’ is redundant."
Jane Sellman (1955- )

Extreme Weather Watch: The Town and Country Almanack sees heavy rains and possible flooding in the Mid-Atlantic Region (22, 23, 24).

Full Moon: May’s Full Moon occurs on Thursday, May 23rd and its name depends upon who you were talking to. To many Native American tribes, it was called Flower Moon, due to the many flowers starting to blossom during this month while the Huron tribes specifically chose to call it Budding Moon for the very same reasons! But if you asked a colonial farmer, he would have said its named was Milk Moon because of the noticeable increase in milk produced by his dairy cows in the month of May.

Special Notes: The National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 2nd, was established in 1952 at the suggestion of Reverend Billy Graham (1918–2018). It was signed into law under President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Rogation Sunday falls on May 5th, Ascension Thursday, on May 9th, Whit Sunday (or Day of Pentecost) falls on May 19th, and Trinity Sunday is May 26th.

Holidays: Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on Sunday, May 5th. Mothers are honored on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12th. That ‘very special lady" needs to be treated like royalty today, so plan a nice dinner out, send her a sentimental card with a nice arrangement of flowers, or just give her a telephone call to say, "I love you"! Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 27th. On this day, we honor those who have died in defense of our freedoms, Their unyielding service and sacrifice protect our way of life every single day!

The Garden: Carrots, lettuce, potatoes, corn, beans, peas and most popular vegetables, with the exception of the warmer weather crops, can be seeded or planted into the vegetable garden at any time now. Wait until mid to late May before planting the warmer weather crops like Tomatoes, Squash, cucumber, pumpkins and peppers. It's still not too late to fertilize your trees and shrubs. Use a Rhododendron or Evergreen type of plant food to feed evergreens and other acid loving plants like Azaleas and Rhododendrons, Camellias and Junipers, etc. Use an all-purpose garden fertilizer (10-10-10) to feed roses, deciduous shrubs and trees. Be sure to water the fertilizer in thoroughly after it is applied.

The Farm: Best for planting root crops (18, 19, 20); weeding and stirring the soil (9, 10); planting above-ground crops (11, 12, 21, 22); harvesting all crops (23, 24, 25); best days for setting hens and incubators (1, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31); slaughtering and butchering meat (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14); harvest and store grains (1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31); Transplanting (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14); weaning of small animals and livestock (1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31).

J. Gruber’s Thought For Today’s Living:

"Keeping one’s eyes, ears, and mind open and mouth closed, often leads to a more thorough understand of life‘s problems"