JANUARY AND THE KNUCKLE CALENDAR. We all know that "Thirty Days Hath September" rhyme to tell us how long each month is:

• "Thirty days hath September,
• April, June and November.
• All the rest have thirty-one
• Save February
• Which alone has twenty-eight,
• Excepting Leap Year -- that's the time
• When February's days are twenty-nine."

But ever since I was a little boy, Duncan Emrich's Hodgepodge Book provided yet another quick way to determine whether it was a long month or a short month: The Knuckle Calendar. And since you always carry your hand around with you, this should be rather convenient.

The Knuckle Calendar is a very simple way of telling which months are the long months (thirty-one days) and which months are the short months (thirty days or February's twenty-eight). Double your left hand into a fist and then, with a finger of your right hand, touch the knuckles and the small depressions, at the same time naming the months. All the long months will be on the knuckles, and all the short months on the depressions or small valleys i.e. January is on the knuckle, February is in a valley, March is on a knuckle etc. When you come to the last knuckle (which is July) return to the first knuckle again with August.

Also, to find out what the weather will be for the twelve months of the year, check the weather for each of the twelve days after Christmas, that is, from December 26 through January 6. The weather on each of these days should tell you what the weather is likely to be for each of the following months. December 26 for January, December 27 for February, December 28 for March, and so on through the year. Wet, dry, rainy, stormy, sunny, good, bad, terrible, hot, cold, sleeting, showery, misty, mixed-up, changeable. Keep a record.