Monday 12 January 2009

What's the weather like with you today?

Rain before seven, fine before eleven.
Red sky at night - shepherd's delight.
Red sky at morning - shepherd's warning.
If the ash before the oak - in the Summer we'll get a soak.
If the oak before the ash - in the Summer we'll get a splash.
What is the weather like where you are today? Here it is a breezy, warm, sunny day - you can almost see the snowdrops growing.
Country weather lore abounds up here. I'm not sure how much of it can be relied upon but there is no doubt an element of truth in it all.
My Grandfather used to say "It's black over by Fulletby" - which lay to the North East of where he lived in Lincolnshire. People used to say that in the Lincolnshire fens we got the weather direct from Siberia and The Urals, as there was nothing of any height in between to stop it! And that would lie to the North East.
My Father-in Law used to see "It's black over Zebra" and Zebra hill was due North West from our kitchen window. Where does our wet weather come from? Mainly the North West.
Between us and the West lies the Pennine Chain (dare not call them mountains as they are mere molehills compared with those in the US, where most of my readers live! ) But that chain of hills is responsible for a lot of our weather. When the wet weather comes in from Ireland (sorry BT)
it drops on The Lake District and then hits the Pennines. They break it up nicely so that we get much less here.
This was evident this morning, when I went to the vets. He lives on a hill overlooking the River Ure valley. The Ure is in full flood - all the fields are under water on both sides. Yet we have only had eight mm of rain in the last week. All that water has come from higher up the Dale.
At the watershed of the Ure and the Eden, at the top of the Pennines - the Eden flows to the West coast and the Irish sea; the Ure flows through Wensleydale and eventually out into the North Sea.
So here we are, within two miles of flooding and yet we are dry as a bone! How much more so is this true of poor old York. The rivers Swale, Ure, Cover, Bain and Nidd -plus countless other becks - all flow into the River Ouse before it reaches York and then they suffer for our water.
Here on the farm we rarely miss a weather forecast: as with most farms, the weather dictates the work for the coming week.
It would be nice to collect your weather sayings, so if you have any, please post them with your comments. Hope the weather is nice with you today!!

37 comments:

Caroline Gill said...

Not a saying as such, but we always believe that 'a mackerel sky' is the herald of rain. No mackerel sky at present, but plenty of South Wales rain!

Jinksy said...

Only saying I can think of was a favourite of my Dad's - 'N'er cast a clout 'til May be out'. If Easter fell in April and surprised us all with a warmer than usual holiday, Dad would be seen growing increasingly 'hot under the collar' but still steadfastly refusing to remove any layer of clothing in order to cool off!
As for today, grey, wet and windy for us in the 'Sunny South?!'BIG misnomer...
Beautiful names of rivers - specially Nidd - almost make me wish I had a better grasp of geography of the British Isles.

Gwil W said...

In the Lune Valley and thereabouts they say if you can't see Ingleborough it means it's raining and if you can see Ingleborough it means it's going to rain.
Here it has been bitter cold for days, between -5c and -12c. I suspect we may have frozen water pipes. A plumber is on his way.

Gwil W said...

When I say here, I mean Vienna in Austria, which is where I'm based and not the Ingleborough (N Yorks/Lancs) area where I used to be many years ago.

HelenMWalters said...

My father used to say, 'Lot of weather we're having today, doesn't it?' Not really about the weather as such, but it always made me laugh. It's pouring with rain here and three of the cats keep insisting on going out and then look indignantly at me when they come back in wet!

Tess Kincaid said...

A blanket of snow here in Central Ohio! :):):)

Rowan said...

My mum was always doing the 'Ne'er cast a clout' saying too but we always took the May to be the hawthorn blossom not the month. A ring around the moon is a sign of rain too and I know all the ones you mention Weaver - my mum was absolutely full of old sayings about everything not just the weather:)

Jo said...

'It looks bad over Will's mother's', well not today here in the French Pyrenees. In fact after a week of snowy weather and freezing temperatures the sky is blue, but it's still flippin'cold!
I think the Will's mother's bit is probably from Lincolnshire/Norfolk as MOH still uses it today on suitable occasions.

Woman in a Window said...

Your weather seems ancient, contained rules within your corner of the world. The weather here is not so bad today but I'm waiting in fear. We're to battle the cold this week. -40 C or F, at that point I think it levels out. Cold. Cold. Cold. I wait in fear.

thousandflower said...

We're soggy and boggy here in Western Washington State in what is called a British Maritime Climate.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes coastcard we also say mackerel sky not long to be dry.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes coastcard we also say mackerel sky not long to be dry.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Jinksy - that rings a bell! My father would never take his jacket off until the end of the month of May! How times have changed.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes, I have heard that comment poet in residence. I must say the top of Ingleborough is nearly always in cloud when I pass. Hope the frozen water pipe saga ended happily for all concerned.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks Helen - lovely that your father's sayig made you laught and still does.
Oh how typical of cats - they blame us for everything. Dogs too. I have just had my bitch speyed and she is looking at me with such accusing eyes. I keep telling her she will thank me for it eventually but she doesn't believe me.

The Weaver of Grass said...

A blanket of snow in Ohio - there is a poem there waiting to be written willow.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes Rowan I had forgotten the one about the ring round the moon. Also the farmer always remarks when the moon is on its back.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I wonder where Will's mother lived Jo. Do you still use the expression?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Woman in a window. I was once in minus forty in Almaty - it was amazing, everything was frozen solid. Keep warm and snug..

The Weaver of Grass said...

British Maritime Climate = soggy and boggy - I like it Thousand Flower. Keep warm.

Rachel Fox said...

One my favourite Scottish expressions is 'blowing a hooley' - at least I think it's Scottish. I never heard it in England. It means 'right windy'.

Raph G. Neckmann said...

I can't think of any sayings; but when I was small, our baker, (who used to make up words, so my parents thought!)came to deliver the loaves one day when it was raining very hard and commented that the weather was "sileucious". (That's how I imagine one would spell it!) Is there such a word?

Crafty Green Poet said...

I think most of my sayings would be similar to yours. The weather here today has been a bit mixed, some sun, some rain, not too cold,

Heather said...

I seem to remember your first saying the other way round: 'Sun before seven, rain before eleven' and this has often occurred during the summer. I've often wondered if Jinksy's saying referred to the month of May or May blossom. These days we seem to have to cast a few clouts and then put them on again!

Liz said...

I remember my Grandfather looking up at the sky when he was dairy farming and say looks like the worm has turned rain tomorrow and always he was right. Sorry I haven't caught up sooner Weaver. My farm has needed some serious attention the last couple of weeks. Love the photos you've posted and the great stories.

Take care and I'm glad I've finally caught up!!!

Liz

Leenie said...

Count cricket chirps. The number of chirps in 14 seconds plus 40 equals the temperature Farenheit. Since Idaho has nine months of winter and three months of bad sledding we say there is not such thing as bad weather if you dress for it. We are experiencing a January thaw.

Hildred said...

My Grandmother (from Teddington) used to say that if there was enough blue in the sky to make a sailor a pair of pants good weather was on its way.

Here in the Similkameen Valley in southern British Columbia we have been fogged in all day - nary a glimse of the hills on the other side of the valley.

Acornmoon said...

Here on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border we get lots of cloud cover, "Tupperware skies" describes what is often a gloomy,grey sort of day. Today looks less grey, it seems milder and damper than last week.

I enjoyed your previous post, strange to think that those large. workman's hands made such delicate needlework. When I read your descriptions, I can see them as children's picture books. That would make a gentle story, great to illustrate! Also. I am reminded of the Miss Reade stories.

Fencreative said...

I'd forgotten about the Oak before the Ash rhyme! Living in the Cambridgeshire Fens, I'm very familiar with Siberian winds! There really is nothing to stop them is there. I't actually been warmer here for the last couple of days and though it's been windy, the wind doesn't have the bite it did before Christmas. Here's looking forward to it continuing and to lighter mornings as well.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for visiting coastcard. Yes I remember the one about mackerel sky. South Wales and rain seem to be synonymous at present, don't they?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Don't know that word hooley rachel.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Love that word sileucious Raph - if there wasn't such a word then there is now.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks to all of you. It has been so interesting reading all your weather comments = seems it is a topic of conversation everywhere.

Pat Posner said...

'When the leaves (on the trees) show their undersides, be very sure that rain betides'.
Sycamore, poplar and lime trees are said to be good examples.

Weaver, you said: "This was evident this morning, when I went to the vets."
Hope Tess is OK?

xxPat

Anonymous said...

Mild and dull in North Herts. Are there two drearier words to describe weather than 'mild and dull'? Icy lanes are a small price to pay for the glories of the frost that bound us for three days last week.

Elizabeth said...

Weather rather blah here today.
33'F overcast.

Little bits of snow melting. Meant to be cold the rest of the week.
Yesterday on Long Island the trees were encased in glittering ice.
As in Robert Frost's Poem "Birches". ( Teacher in me will not die!)

So often in New York we get clear very bright light.
Believe me, very different from England.
I grew up in Essex where we used to say that the cold winds blew directly from Russia.
Dad used to say he got a headache just before it snowed.
All best wishes.

Reader Wil said...

I read your post with great pleasure and found Dutch sayings :1" Maart roert zijn staart " which means "March has a sting in its tail"
2."April doet wat hij wil"=" April does what it wants" or "April is the cruellest month" ( The weather in April is very capricious.)
3. "Aprilletje zoet geeft wel eens een witte hoed"=" April sweet gives sometimes a white hat".

In Dutch it rhymes of course.