Beech Tree News Network

When my late husband and I were in college, we took a folklore class. It was one class that we actually enjoyed! Basically, folklore is the traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folklore).

Recently, I came across a book that included folk sayings related to planting and weather:

Planting
•    Always plant four seeds if you expect one to come up: one for the bird, one for the crow, one for the cutworm, and one to grow.
•    Plant bean seed when the sign is in the arms and you will have beans by the armful. If planted any other time, you will only have blooms.
•    Never plant peas until you hear the whippoorwill’s call.
•    Never plant okra while standing. Always stoop, and the plant will bear while still low.
•    It is good luck to plant cucumbers on May 1 before sunup.
•    Plant potatoes in the dark of the moon and dig them in the light of the moon.
•    If you plant a cedar tree and it lives, you will live to a ripe old age; if it dies, you will die young.
•    Plant root crops in the dark of the moon and above ground crops in the light of the moon.
Weather
•    If the animals of the woods, swamps, and barnyards are unusually vocal, it is a sign of rain.
•    If your fruit trees bloom out of season, there will be a harsh winter or you will have extremely bad luck.
•    A red sunset in autumn is a sign of cold weather.
•    If the oak is out before the ash, it will be a wet summer; if the ash is out before the oak, it will be a summer of fire and smoke.
•    A whirlwind is a sign of dry weather.
•    A circle around the moon containing more than five stars is a sure sign of cold weather.
•    If the moon is hanging on the point, it is a wet moon; if it is lying on its back, the weather will be dry.
•    If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain every Sunday for seven Sundays.
•    Three months after you hear the first katydid, there will be a killing frost.
•    Red sky at sunset indicates fair weather. Red sky in the east at sunrise indicates stormy weather.
•    If your cat sits with its back to the fire, expect cold weather.
•    Heavy dew in the morning is a sign of fair weather.
•    Three frosts or three fogs on successive nights bring rain.
•    If there is a lot of green grass at Christmas time, there will be a lot of sickness the next year.

My mother reminded me that Jesus mentioned ways to predict weather in Matthew 16:2-3 and Luke 12:54-55. During her youth, folk sayings were commonly used. Being prone to allergies, Mom recited: “When the goldenrod blooms, it will be six weeks until the first frost.”

Most likely, folk sayings were an attempt to make sense of events and/or to share information. Some might say they’re outdated, but I find them entertaining.