Call them what you will, there are all types of sayings, adages, pearls of wisdom, wives’ tales or bits of lore regarding the weather and our ability to read the changes in our natural environment. Although some of them may be questionable, there’s typically some kernel of truth behind each of these expressions – some of which hit the nail right on the head – but that’s another adage, altogether.
Some of the more – or less – common sayings that exhibit weather-related events include:
"Plant your beans when the moon is light; you will find that this is right. Plant potatoes when the moon is dark, and to this line you’ll always hark. But if you vary from this rule, you will find you are a fool. Follow this rule to the end, and you’ll have lots of dough to spend."
"When sheep gather in a huddle, tomorrow we will have a puddle"
"When oak is out before the ash, ‘twill be a summer of wet and splash; but if the ash before the oak, ‘twill be a summer of fire and smoke."
"Onion skins very thin, mild winter coming in; onion skins thick and tough, coming winter cold and rough."
"If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion; if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb."
It seems that even animals are sensitive to the ever-changing weather patterns. During times of low-humidity, cats will often lick their fur incessantly. Since the dry air causes a build-up of static to form in their fur, and cats find this most annoying, they attempt to dissipate the static charge by constantly licking their coat, in order to keep it damp and avoid the static.
Cows, too, have always been looked upon as indicators of the weather. How many times have you heard that when the cows are lying down in the field, then rain must be on the way? If we trace it back, the best that we can come up with by way of explanation is that the cows can detect the moisture in the air and are attempting to find a dry place to lie down. The fact that, under normal circumstances, they prefer not to lie down, makes this theory rather incongruous. Why not just continue to stand and avoid the whole issue? Typical cow catch-22.