Old Wives' Tales, I

The Farmers Almanac tells us of old wives tales which we remember from our childhood. The ones about weather predictions are the most popular. How accurate are they?

Tales about the Weather

We have all heard them. We have all repeated them. The Farmers' Almanac is full of them. Do we believe them? If they are mere superstitions, why is the Farmers' Almanac still popular even in its old-fashioned format. I can hardly believe that we would be spending money on a cheap-looking pocket book year after year just because we are curious to see if there is any merit to its predictions. Let's look at a couple of time-tested ways of predicting the weather.

March marches on.

"March marches in like a lamb and out like a lion." Well that certainly was true in Manitoba in March of 2001. The beginning of March was the mildest which I remember in the Canadian prairies, and I have lived here many years. Most of the month was uneventful. Then, on the evening of March 30, it started snowing and blowing, and by noon of March 31, the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg was closed. "March marches in like a lion and out like a lamb." I haven't kept records, but I do remember that this has been true in some years. I need to find a webpage where I can look up weather conditions for any place at any time. Then I could check it out. We used to be able to call our weather office to get that kind of information, but the service is no longer gratis. Last year's March was neither a lion nor a lamb. It slinked in like a lazy old dog and out the same way.

Red Sky in at Night

"Red sky at night, sailors' delight." Oh yes? I didn't buy that one. Almost every prairie sky turns red at sunset. The following day, however could bring a storm as readly as calm weather. Then someone explained to me the proper interpretation of that old wives' tale. You have to look at the sky opposite the setting sun to read its color. Sure enough, that works "Red eastern sky at night is indeed sailors' delight."

Red Sky in the Morning

I also remember the saying, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning." I haven't watched out for this one, neither do I know in which direction of the sky to search for the color, so I would not be a good predictor of storms. Maybe some of you can help us out. Let us know in the discussion.

The copyright of the article Old Wives' Tales, I in Natural Health is owned by Traute Klein, biogardener. Permission to republish Old Wives' Tales, I in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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