"I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law"
                               Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

For the month of January, temperatures will be average with precipitation to be below average.

Weather watch: Fair, windy, and cold (1,2,3) with light snow or rain (4,5,6). Partly cloudy and cold (7,8,9) with more light snow or rain (10,11). Windy and cold (12,13) with periods of light snow (14,15,16). Weather turns fair but very cold (17,18,19 with snow or rain (20,21). Fair and not so cold (22,23,24). Possible rain or snow (25,26) with fair skies and cold temperatures (27,28,29). The month ends with stormy weather of rain or snow (30,31).

Tornado watch: The Almanack sees no tornado activity for this first month of 2005.

Full moon: The full moon for January occurs on the 25h and is sometimes referred to as the hunger moon due to the difficulty in finding food in the cold and temperate climates during this winter month. It also has been known as the wolf moon because of the many wolf packs that were drawn to native American villages in search of food during that month.

Special notes: On January 4th, 1821, the first native-born America saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton died in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929.

Holidays: Be realistic with your New Year's resolutions and you might just be able to stick to them throughout the entire year! Remember to honor the great Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 17th.

The garden: Pick up an extra calendar when they go on sale after January 1st. Use it to record last and first projected frost dates, planting times, and when favorite plants bloom and vegetables ripen in your area. Pick up seed catalogs, gardening books and magazines and review them over these cold winter months. Remember to get seed orders in early! Watch out for heavy snow accumulation that can damage shrubs, bushes and small trees. Be careful where you pile snow removed from sidewalks and driveways. Pay special attention to houseplants now. They will require additional watering due to the hotter and drier indoor temperatures.

J. Grubers' thought for today's living: "Resolutions are only as good as the intent to keep them"