My quest for a copy of "The Old Farmer’s Almanac" came about because of a phrase I recently heard Bill Warren use in a conversation he was having about how to get rid of wild rose bushes etc. in fields and pastures. I asked Bill about the meaning of "Ember Days," but he didn’t know for sure what it meant. He did know that when the Almanac calendar indicated certain days of the month were "Ember Days," unwanted trees and shrubs could be cut down and would not come back again. That conversation peeked my curiosity enough to begin a search to try to figure out the true meaning of "Ember Days."

Here’s what I’ve found so far. I located information on the internet about a book published by Jack R. Pyle and Taylor Reese entitled "Raising With The Moon, The Complete Guide to Gardening and Living By the Signs of the Moon." Part of the information found in that book says: "Ember Days are religious holidays for prayer and fasting. But these holidays are said to be excellent for destroying unwanted growth. Ember Days do not fall into any moon phase or sign. They can occur in any of the four phases of the moon and in any sign. Unwanted growth cut during Ember Days regardless of the phase of the moon will die or come back so weakened that it is an easy matter to eliminate. Some Almanacs list only one Ember Day. Only Wednesday will be shown, but the following Friday and Saturday are also Ember Days, even if they are not marked as such."

The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s explanation in part about Ember Days says this: "The Almanac traditionally marks the four periods formerly observed by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches for prayer, fasting, and the ordination of clergy. Folklore has it that the weather on Ember Days foretells the weather for three successive months, that is, for September’s Ember Days, Wednesday forecasts weather for October, Friday for November, and Saturday for December."

Gruder Carmack remembers hearing the term "deadening" which came about when folks would gather to help a neighbor clear unwanted trees and undergrowth for a new ground. He told me this was always done during Ember Days.

I wonder how many people still rely on the Almanac for planting of gardens. My in-laws always did. They raised a garden big enough to feed everybody in Overton County and then some, but never sowed a seed or set out a plant without consulting the Almanac. My father-in-law always kept a Black Draught/Cardui calendar from J.D. Coleman and Sons General Merchandise store hanging by the front door of their home. Those calendars were saved from year to year, and three times a day, my father-in-law faithfully recorded the temperature. The first one would be written down when he got up each morning, the next one put down at dinner time, and the last one around supper time each night. He also made notes about how much rain or how much snow had fallen on certain days. Holt’s Family Pharmacy gives those same calendars away, and seeing one again brought back a lot of memories when I stopped by there recently.

And in addition to the Black Draught/Cardui calendar from Holt’s, they also have copies of "Grier’s Almanac 2007." That particular Almanac shows these dates as Ember Days in 2007 as being February 28, March 2, March 3; May 30, June 1, June 2; September 19, 21, 22; December 19, 21, 22. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar dates for Ember Days are exactly the same as Grier’s.

I’ve discovered there’s a wealth of information in that little copy of "The Old Farmer’s Almanac" I was finally successful in locating a copy of. For example, the Almanac indicates scientific research was conducted, and it has been determined that redheads feel more pain than those of other hair color. When I read this, I realized why, when the redhead in our family was small, she would practically pass out at the thought of getting a tooth pulled, even though it might be just hanging by a thread in her mouth. I always though she was just exaggerating, but now that I’ve read it in the Almanac, I know I was probably wrong about the amount of pain she felt. I guess I owe her an apology for the number of times I’ve had to just about hog-tie her to pull a tooth.

Dog Days are also talked about in "The Old Farmer’s Almanac." The dates for 2007 are July 3 through August 11. The Almanac says "these are the hottest and most unhealthy days of the year." But that’s about all the information it gives. My mother-in-law always said you should never have a tooth pulled during Dog Days because it would bleed too much. Something else I had never heard of is also listed in the Almanac. It’s called "Cat Nights." This begins August 17. The explanation given says "this term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. An old Irish legend says that a witch could turn into a cat and regain herself eight times, but on the ninth time, August 17, she couldn’t change back, hence the saying, A cat has nine lives. Because August is a "yowly" time for cats, this may have prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl in the first place."

In a Question and Answer section, the question is asked, which month are the most people born in? The Answer - August. About 21 million Americans, or nine percent of the population, have birthdays in August.