The first almanac in this country was printed in 1639. It was compiled by a man name Richard Pierce. The printing was completed by Stephen Daye. Daye brought the first printing press to the original 13 colonies.

In 1732, Benjamin Franklin created "Poor Richard's Almanac." He continued to print it until 1758. His version contained witty sayings. Remember "A penny saved is a penny earned?" Another is "If you sleep with dogs you will get fleas." His almanac was well respected, because Franklin knew how to manage money and was a successful man. He also discovered electricity and many other things.

We had a mild winter with moderate amounts of snow. Not only was the winter mild, but we had record high temperatures in March. The almanac predicted we would have a cold winter with a lot of snow.

Can I say their weather predictions are accurate? Absolutely not.

Why would you want a Farmers' Almanac then? It still has witty sayings and good back-to-the basics advice. The 2012 edition includes recipes along with information on how to home can and freeze food and how to make household cleaners yourself. Articles include "What is a Blue Moon", traditions, trivia quizzes, "Plant a Tea Garden" and many others. It does provide some good reading.

If you believe in planting by the moon, charts are included. It explains astrology and what planets will be visible at which times.

Even if the predictions aren't always accurate in the almanac, you should pick one up for the interesting reading. My answer is no, you can't trust the predictions in the Farmer's Almanac.