indeed , readers have extremely strong feelings about the old farmer 's almanac , which is , as it has been since washington 's presidency , a compendium of weather forecasts , astronomical calculations , recipes , planting tables and `` new , useful and entertaining matter '' like `` how to get rich without doing any work , '' `` what hardly anyone knows about ellis island , '' `` the facts and fictions about death valley '' and `` peace and hominy : some thoughts on grits . ''