TIMES RECORD • August 16, 2023
Every year at this time, I look forward to seeing the Perseid meteor showers. However, it has either rained or been cloudy nearly every evening. So, I have yet to see them. The moon’s impact on the tides makes sense: when the sun, moon and Earth are all in alignment at both the full and new moons, the gravitational pull is the strongest and tides are the largest. Why it impacts weather is less clear. An article in the 2024 Farmers’ Almanac mentions the importance of noticing patterns. Phenology, or the study of cyclic patterns in nature, can provide clues. The big idea is that by studying a place over time and its various aspects, you can learn about the whole system. This is what led me to not be surprised when the clouds came in with the new moon, because I had noticed it many times before. ~ Susan Olcott