Urban Almanac

Almanac September 2020

By Greta Belanger deJong

September 1  Sunrise 6:54 am, Sunset 7:59 pm. Av. high: 78 degrees; Av. low: 58.

September 2  National Preparedness Month. Make an evacuation kit for your pets: leash, crate, health records, any meds, i.d./microchip documentation, photographs of you and your pet, water, food, dish, bags/litter box, blankets, toy. More on disaster prep: https://extension.usu.edu/ueden/

September 3  Birthstone: Sapphire. Once believed to protect the wearer from snakes, improper thoughts, crankiness and stupidity. If only.

September 4  Labor Day. Proposed in 1882 by Peter McGuire, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

September 5  There’s still time for a quick fall garden: Beets, cabbage, kale, lettuce, radishes and spinach can all be planted now. And then you can ferment them! (See 9/16.)

September 6  Full Harvest Moon 1:04am. Humans have never seen the dark side of the moon. Likewise, if anyone were on that region of the moon, they would never see Earth.

September 7  Pick pears before they are ripe (you’ll have to tug) and let soften indoors. The taste and texture will be far better.

September 8  On this date in 1974, a month after resigning the presidency in disgrace as a result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon was granted a full pardon.

September 9  Fermenting for God: International Buy A Priest A Beer Day. According to The Catholic Gentleman, “Priests are people, too, and they enjoy socializing over good food and drink as much as anyone.”

September 10  Cool word of the month: Eucatastrophe, an event with a happy ending.

September 11  Where were you and what were you doing the morning of September 11, 2001?

September 12  Pepper plants can live multiple years if you pot them up and bring them inside to a south-facing window. The CATALYST office has one that’s eight years old!

September 13  To roast garlic, place entire heads on individual squares of foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap up, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until soft.

September 14  A raw, ripe apple is nearly a perfect food. Its acids, contained in and just below the skin, aid in the digestion of rich and fatty foods. Apples also contain antioxidants that boost immune function and hinder heart disease and some cancers.

September 15  Pickled is not the same as fermented. Only fermented foods have probiotic and enzymatic value.

September 16  Fermentation Festival @ Pioneer Park, 9am-1pm. Sample, shop, listen to experts and learn how to make your own fermented veggies and more.

September 17  Ken Kesey, b. on this day in 1935. Author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and focus of Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

September 18  The crickets are getting louder. As days get shorter and nights cooler, mating becomes imperative: Adult crickets die when it freezes. The loud, monotonous sound you hear in the evening is the males singing to attract a mate.

September 19  New Moon 11:30pm. This is a good time to set intentions, start a new project or make major decisions, say astrologers.

September 20  Serious about your hens? Sign up for Advanced Topics in Chicken Care, https://WasatchGar­dens.org. The Dog’s Meow carries organic feed for chickens… and goats, too.

September 21  Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders While chasing the clouds away…. Anyone alive in 1978 remembers this classic euphoria-inducing Earth, Wind and Fire soul jam: https://genius.com/Earth-wind-and-fire-september-lyrics

September 22  Autumnal Equinox, a day of balance between dark and light, warmth and cold—a good day to watch both sunrise and sunset, to honor the shift of seasons.

September 23  Apocalypse. Or not. According to the Christian Bible, Revelation 12:1-2, an astronomical alignment on this date will cause a remarkable sky event (Wikipedia, “Revelation 12 Sign”). See for yourself. Check out a telescope from any of the Salt Lake County Library’s seven branches.

September 24  Take a hike: Asters, dotted gayfeather, blue gentians and goldenrod are blooming in the foothills.

September 25  This is the peak of the fall raptor migration: Head out to the Goshute or Wellsville Mountains to say au revoir to hundreds (possibly thousands) of eagles, hawks, falcons and vultures.

September 26  Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman, b. 1774. The trees Chapman planted produced cider apples, not eating apples. The real reason he was welcome everywhere? “He was bringing the gift of alcohol to the frontier. He was our American Dionysus,” says food writer Michael Pollan.

September 27  Houseplants summering outside? Rinse them  to remove any pests and bring inside before you turn the heat on so they have a chance to readjust.

September 28  Penicillin is a product of fermentation. Alexander Fleming recorded his discovery of penicillin on this date in 1928.

September 29  Done with gardening? Pull the spent stalks and compost or put in the brown bin. Then plant cover crops: winter rye, oats, hairy vetch or buckwheat, to feed and protect the soil until next spring. Purchase from Mountain Valley Seed Co. in SLC.

September 30  Av. high: 71 degrees; low: 47.  Save up to 10% on heating costs by reversing the direction of your ceiling fans. A clockwise rotation at low speed pulls cool air up which pushes warm air down along the walls and back to the floor. u. u

Greta Belanger deJong is editor and founder of CATALYST.  https://Gretchen@CatalystMagazine.net/

This article was originally published on September 2, 2020.