Weather Folklore

  A Hard Winter Forecast…

This morning (20^th June 2019) when cleaning up some weeds in the front garden, I noticed the condition of a small holly bush which we have had for many years.   I have noticed a good show of berries over the years but never as many as there are this year.

My old grandfather used to say that ‘Mother Nature provides for her wild animals and birds by producing plenty of berries, wild fruit and nuts for them when a really tough winter is to be expected’.  By the looks of things, we can anticipate a severe one this year.

Oddly enough, whilst speaking of Mother Nature, he used to say if I mentioned that nature can be very cruel…’ Mother Nature is never cruel or kind, she is totally indifferent as to the outcome of her action’.

Again mentioning holly bushes, he maintained that it was very bad luck to cut down a holly tree.   When I asked why, he told me that as it is one of the few common evergreens that grows throughout the winter, the farmer in olden days when ploughing  a field used to  use it as an distant indicator and thereby plough a straight line.

We should all know the saying about ‘Red sky at night, sailors delight.  Red sky at morning, shepherds warning’………………

I won’t go into any more but if interested look up this link: http://downgardenservices.org.uk/folklore.htm

--------Mike-------