Here are no stories told you of what is to be seen at the other end of the world, but of things at home, in your own Native Country, at your own doors, easily examinable with little travel, less cost, and very little hazard.

Joshua Childrey, 1660

NOTES FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF LATE SUMMER
THE THIRTY-SEVENTH WEEK OF THE NATURAL YEAR
      Lilies have all faded as Middle Summer comes to a close, but wild plums ripen in the heat and humidity of Late Summer, forecasting autumn apples and fall raspberries. Following the garden’s cues, the Lily Moon wanes throughout the period, becoming the Wild Plum Moon on August 9 at 11:08 p.m. Rising after midnight and setting in the early evening, the dark moon is high in the center of the southern sky in the middle of the day.
     Tidal and lunar influences have been shown to be greater at full moon and new moon times. Consequently, you might expect more trouble with your flock, herd, significant other, parents or children on or about August 9 and 24.
      Venus moves retrograde into Virgo this month, remaining the evening star in the far west after sundown, and joining Saturn, which has stayed in Virgo throughout the year. Mars also moves back into Virgo, accompanying Venus and Saturn. Jupiter keeps its position in Pisces, rising in the east as Venus, Saturn and Mars follow the sun into the Pacific Ocean. By sunrise, Jupiter will be the brightest light in the western half of the sky.
     Starting on August 12, the Perseid meteors appear in the east at the rate of one shooting star a second. The shower takes place an hour or so after midnight below the Milky Way in Perseus. At this point in the night, Perseus has moved well away from the northern edge of the horizon and lies in the eastern sky.
     Butterflies become more common this week of the year, another generation of cabbage moths, swallowtails, and skippers arriving in your garden. The number of monarchs increases on Joe Pye Weed and butterfly bushes. Sometimes giant imperial moths appear in the night. Tiny alypias, shiny black moths with white spots on their wings, may find their way indoors.
     In the mornings, cardinals still sing a half an hour before dawn. Blue jays still care for their young, whining and flitting through the bushes. Robins call in the honeysuckles, guiding their fledglings. Bullfrogs still call in the local ponds. But by the end of the week, the tree line is turning ever so slightly, a hint of tan and yellow appearing in the black walnuts, buckeyes, locusts and cottonwoods.