Weather Lore - Part One

Huge apologies for the delay in completing this first part of Weather Lore, after promising it several years ago, but here we go at last! :) 

In the book Wildlife of the Jurassic Coast by Brian Edwards, the following Celtic Blessing is quoted on the opening page...

"Deep peace of the running wave to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep peace of the shining stars to you, Deep peace of the infinite peace to you."

...which pretty much sums up the beauty of nature to me.  

I love the way that certain signs in nature can show us what's likely to happen; the various cloud formations, the way the moon 'sits' in the sky and how flowers and creatures react to air pressure and moisture in the air.

There are some great rhymes that have come down to us too - much of which is largely forgotten - but can still help us when the weather forecast fails! My dad was a great proponent of weather lore and, as a gardener, he would also sow according to the moon cycles. I learnt a few things from him and also inherited our old book about the countryside - The Countryside Companion, published approximately in the late 1940s - which is also a great resource and one of my most precious possessions. 

Another lovely old book I have is Nature Through the Year, published in 1946, in which one of the opening paragraphs to the section on weather is:

"The British people and their weather are inevitably linked. We deride it, we grumble continuously about it, we suffer it (although by no means in silence) and yet we are secretly proud of it."

Being a temperate island, we enjoy warmer winter temperatures than our European friends due to the Gulf Stream and the south-westerly winds that drive it. Living on the south-west peninsular we are often the first to receive the weather, along with the Scilly Isles, South Wales and Ireland. If I'm talking to friends who live further north in England about the weather I often say 'don't worry, we'll send it up to you once we've finished with it'...we're kind like that! ;)

Although January is often the coldest month we don't always get snow every year here in the south-west, or maybe just a light coating which lasts only an hour or two. The snow scenes below were actually taken in March 2018, when we had a lot of snow lasting for about three weeks.

I don't have any rhymes associated with January but an interesting bit of lore is that the Anglo-Saxons called the month Wulfmonath - wolf month - because it was a time of cold and hunger for wolves, enticing them nearer to villages for food.

One of the first rhymes of the year relates to what is known in the Celtic calendar as Imbolg, on the 2nd of February. In the Christian calendar it's called Candlemas and in the USA it's also known as Groundhog Day when Punxatawny Phil foretells the weather depending upon seeing his shadow or not...hence the sun being out foretelling another flight of winter. Another legend is from Scotland, which says that the Hag of Winter - called the Cailleach - determines whether or not winter will stay by gathering firewood from the forest to keep warm, or she'll stay in bed because she knows that fair weather is coming.

The English rhyme goes like this:

"If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight,
If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain,
Then winter will not come again."

This year the day began cloudy with just an odd rain shower and then the sun came out for the afternoon...and we've had pretty much both the same weather here since, especially a lot of rain!

The month of March is said to 'come in like a lion and go out like a lamb' - beginning with storms then turning to the more spring-like sunny days - although it doesn't always turn out like that. For instance, at the time of writing this bit it's just before the end of the month and the wind and rain are battering the windows. We also had hail yesterday. And now the rain has just stopped and the sun has appeared...followed by rain again, lol.

I think it was Bob Hope who said that 'Britain is the only place where you can get all the seasons in one day'. It has been known! ;)

Some more weather wisdom for the month of march:

"A wet March makes a sad harvest,
March dry, good rye".

And a description of March in Norse folklore:

"The lengthening month that wakes the adder and blooms the whin."

Whin is another, older name for gorse (also called furze). There's also this well-known rhyme:

"March winds and April showers                                                                    

 Bring forth May flowers."

Which is always lovely and cheering as to the purpose of the seasons. The end of March is the start of Spring, which is something to look forward to. 

 

We do have some lovely flowers throughout the early year towards spring though, starting with the snowdrops in January and continuing with celandines, primroses, indigenous daffodils and many others, along with tree and hedge blossoms. In April and May there are carpets of bluebells in most of our woodlands along with wild garlic and other delights, whereas the hedgerows are awash with mustard garlic and dandelions, garden lawns dotted with small daisies - the latin name of which is bellis perennis - mostly just known as lawn daisies.

Interestingly, several wild flowers are also natural clocks, opening and closing at certain times of the day and some foretelling the weather by closing up just before rain. The delightful little lawn daisies do that, also scarlet pimpernel and germander speedwell. Wild sorrel is also abundant this time of year and when there's wet weather their clover-like leaves close downwards and look like little tents...perhaps for woodland fairies to shelter under?

 

 A rhyme about April is as follows:

"April, April,                                                                                                    

Laugh thy girlish laughter,                                                                               

Then the moment after,                                                                                  

Weep thy girlish tears."

Which shows how we can have sunshine one moment followed by showers the next, especially in this month. And two more rhymes about wet weather in April:

"April wet,                                                                                                             Good wheat."

"A cold April brings us bread and wine."

As it's now the last day of April, which after a few days of sunshine following much wet weather - and very cold this year, which is good according to that last rhyme - we now have (you guessed it) rain! 

I'm going to leave it there for this first article as there's such a huge amount of information that I'll need to write it all up in several parts. I'll also be including more about weather signs, as well as the rhymes and sayings. I tried to post this up on the last day of April but I couldn't quite make it. Happy May! :)

The two nature books I mentioned can still be bought on both Ebay and Amazon and both at very resonable prices, ranging from £4 to £30 plus with many around the £8 or £10 mark, depending on the condition. So, I'll add the details here:

The Countryside Companion by Tom Stephenson 

Published by Odhams Press

Nature Through the Year  

Published by Odhams Press 1946 

Both contain black and white photos only but the Nature Through the Year book was also republished in 1949 with colour photos. I'll probably be including them in a future Useful Books article about British Nature, when I'll add more information and photos from the books.

 

A little late, as the blossom is almost over here in the South-West, but I wish you all a very happy Sakura / Cherry Blossom time. Meanwhile, next up is a Useful Books article about British Architecture, which I've almost finished.

Cheers. :)