Weather Lore

Old-time weather indicators you might find interesting from a book called "Country Wisdom":

"When the farm animals became restless and bellowed and clamored, everyone was prepared to batten down the hatches. The pig was the best weather sage of all. It was said that pigs are the only creatures that "see the wind." According to myth, when pigs squeal in winter, there will be a blizzard. When pigs carry sticks it will rain, and when they lie in the mud, there will be a dry spell.

When the cat sat by the fire more than usual or licked its feet, some people expected rain. When dogs began to dig holes, howled when someone went out, ate grass or refused meat, that, too, was a sign that rain was on the way.

Did you know that geese honk before it storms, woodpeckers peck more furiously, "rain crows" call for rain, and robins stay close to their nests?

Insects are the most consistent of God's creatures. You might call the cricket "the poor man's thermometer." If you count the chirps a cricket makes in 25 seconds, then add 37 to that number, you will get the correct temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Ants, too, foretell the weather. Expect stormy weather if they travel in lines and fair weather if they scatter. And watch the spiders. If they spin their webs in the morning, you can expect a fair day. If they destroy the webs, a storm will soon follow."