Almanacs

My sister gave me this beautiful calendar the other day and I just love it. It is one of those things that reminds me of the Almanacs my grandparents and my parents used to help plan their gardens and forecast the weather. They also checked the almanac for home remedies and recipes. This was the tool used by farmers everywhere for farming success. It told readers when to plant their crops and gave them a steady stream of hints and tips for farming, homemaking and life skills.

In my grandmother's house, the almanac had a special hook in the kitchen. The book was always hanging there by its specially drilled hole, ready to use as a reference guide. The Old Farmer's Almanac still comes with a hole drilled in the upper left hand corner. Many things have changed over the years but not the weather forecasts or the hole.

I intend to use this calendar to remind me that I can now go to their website at Almanac.com and get tons of farming advice. I have noticed that they even have a Kindle edition. Talk about the old meeting the new!

I know that I will really enjoy my calendar which incidentally has some mighty fine recipes, like Hawaiian Chicken Salad, Green Tomato Pie, Corn and Chicken Chowder and beautiful photography of garden produce that will hopefully make me aim high in my garden this year. As I consider my garden plans for 2012, I may just put on a pot of that chowder and get busy planning.