WEATHER HISTORY 

Record High: August 19, 1992, 93 degrees F.
Record Low: August 23rd, 1968, 26 degrees F.

August has an average high of 78 degrees, and an average low of 47 degrees. Average precipitation is 2.24 inches.

ANIMAL HAPPENINGS

Ground squirrels are munching grasses, flowers and shrubs in order to build the fat stores that will sustain them during winter hibernation.

Mule deer and elk sport velvet covered antlers- which are actually bones that develop each year. Soon this year’s antler growth will be complete, and the deer and elk will scrape the dried velvet from their antlers and begin their mating season.

Mountain chickadees, pine siskins, and nuthatches migrate “vertically” from the mountains to the valleys.

Hummingbirds have left the high country for flowers and feeders of lower elevations. Continue to enjoy the rusty Rufous hummingbirds as they aggressively defend their feeding territories (no other hummingbird has a rufous colored back).

Look for sphinx or "hummingbird" moths feeding on garden and wild flowers at dusk and on overcast days. They feed at flowers in a manner similar to hummingbird and are of similar size. During their caterpillar stage they are known as hornworms. Although all hornworm larvae feed on leaves of various plants, most species are innocuous, attracting little attention and causing little, if any, injury to garden plants.

PLANT HAPPENINGS

Wild
Chokecherries, American wild plums, Three-leaf Sumac, Hawthorn and Service Berries ripen, providing great food for birds, bears, and other wildlife. Acorns grow fat for the fall, but aren't ripe yet. Both Chokecherry and Hawthorn "haws" can be made into tasty jam.

Look for many species of wild Asters in white, yellow and purple.

Monsoon rains continue, offering a welcome respite from the heat, and enable mushrooms to sprout.

Garden
If you want to try for cool season crops in the fall, plant in early August and cross your fingers that the plants don't bolt before it cools down. Expect our first light frost in early September.

Great summer crops such as peaches and melons continue, along with the arrival of early apples and pears. Watch for green chili's and other peppers at the local farmers markets. Pick up some summer squash, beans, and potatoes, along with early season garlic.

ASTRONOMICAL HAPPENINGS 

CELESTIAL HAPPENINGS 

The Moon hovers above lone Jupiter on the 1st and the 29th. Saturn has its conjunction with the Sun on the 7th. Neptune's opposition on the 11th is hard to see, even with a telescope. In the predawn sky, Mercury and Venus in Gemini stay fairly close together during the first two weeks. Binoculars may show the conjunction of Mercury and Saturn on the 20th and 21st; fading Venus is just above them. The Moon joins them on the 22nd. Saturn and Venus are very close together on the 26th but difficult to view in the brightening dawn. (Based on the Old Farmer's Almanac).

OTHER HAPPENINGS 

Perseid Meteor Shower, early morning of August 12th: This is the best shower of the year, even with the moon still almost full. The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. The comet's wide tail intersects Earth's orbit. Tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a tiny smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light--a meteor--when it disintegrates.

Perseid meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, hence their name. The best time to watch is during the hours before sunrise when Perseus is high in the sky. Between 2 a.m. and dawn on August 12 you could see hundreds of meteors.