New moon: In Aries, April 14
Full moon: In Scorpio, April 28
Visible planets: Crater, the Cup, representing the goblet of the Greek god Apollo can be seen in the northern hemisphere in April. Hydra, the Sea Serpent, can be seen in the northern hemisphere through May.
Astrological sign: Aries, March 21 to April 19; Taurus, April 20 to May 20
Gem stone: Diamond
Flower: Daisy
Harvard history snippet:
“In mid-1819 the Reverend Mr. Warren Fay, the seventh minister of the First Church of Harvard, asked that he be dismissed from his pastoral position. Like a number of his predecessors, he cited recurrent religious bickering, and claimed that it was impossible to preside over a divided congregation.”
—from Directions of a Town, by Robert C. Anderson (1976)
Household tips:
- Coat the labels on medicine bottles with clear nail polish to prevent spilled medicine from smearing the labels.
- Use old socks sprayed with furniture polish to do household dusting.
Going green:
- Reduce speed when driving on the highway from 70 mph to 55 mph, to increase your car’s fuel efficiency by as much as 23 percent.
- Set up a rain barrel to harvest rain from your roof, and use to water plants.
What to do in the garden:
- Begin hardening off cool-season seedlings, such as cabbage and broccoli, for transplanting at the end of the month.
- Set up support trellises for peas.
- Till compost or well-rotted manure into garden beds, to prepare for late-May plantings.
Thought for the month:
“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”
—William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright, (1564–1616)
Do you have an almanac tidbit you’d like to share? E-mail to editor@harvardpress.com.