I need your help. I’m trying to collect as many of the old sayings as I can.
You might call them “wive’s tales”, “farmer’s stories” or “wise old words”. I call them “seasoned bits of wisdom”.
A couple of better known examples of what I’m talking about are “red sky in morning, sailor take warning…red sky at night, sailor’s delight” and “when the wind’s from the east the fishing is least and when the wind’s from the west the fishing is best”.
These words originated years ago from people who were much more in tune with the outdoors than we are today. As farmers and others who depended on the bounty of Mother Nature to survive, they became keen observers of the weather and natural patterns around them.
For that reason, I believe most of these sayings were based in truth, and still have value today.
Here are a some I remember from my Grandad…
“The ponds won’t freeze up till they’re full” and “a pint’s a pound year round” ( I still don’t know what that one means) and “if you can see the bottom of the leaves it’s going to rain”.
I’ve asked my Dad to help me come up with some of these old sayings and I’ll post more as we remember them.
I’m looking for your help too. If you know of any such words of wisdom please pass them along. I want to document this bit of history before it’s too late.
UPDATE 6/21
I’ve got some more….
“Whatever direction the wind is blowing on the first day of spring is the direction it will blow for most of the next six weeks”.
“It will be six weeks from the time the tree toads (cicadas) start buzzing till the first frost”. My Dad and I have kept track of this one and it’s actually closer to eight weeks”.
“You can tell how much snow is coming by the height of the muskrat houses”. The thinking is they’ll build them high enough for the top to stick out.
“If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain for the next seven sundays.”
“The suckers will start running when all the snow is out of the woods”.
That’s it for now. I’ll keep looking and welcome your help.
UPDATE 6/26
Ok, some more, lots of “rain” sayings this time…..
“When horses stand side by side, facing opposite directions….it’s going to rain.”
“If there’s no dew in the morning it’s going to rain.”
“If it rains before seven, it will quit by eleven. If not it will rain all day.”
“When the leaves turn over (upside down) it’s going to rain.” (this seems especially true with maple trees)
And finally for now….
“For every fog in the summer there will be a snowstorm in the winter.”
I’m still looking. Let me know if you have any old sayings like these.
Update 7/9/10
Here’s another one from Jim Weston of Cadillac. Thanks Jim. “”You will find Morel Mushrooms when the leaves on Lilac bushes are as big as a Squirrel’s ear.”
Update 3/24/11
“The robins need to get snowed on three times before winter is over” That one seems appropriate with the weather this week.
Update 7/18/11
Here’s another one….this one from Patrick Berry II ” when the winds from the north fishermen go not forth,and if it blows from the south it blows the bait in the fishes mouth”. Thanks Patrick.
Update 7/23/11
“Six months after the first thunderstorm will come the first frost”…Thanks to Mary Smith of Saginaw, Michigan for that one.
Update 3/11/12
Here are some more…
“If the mourning dove coos four times it is going to rain”…That one from Gary (sorry, he didn’t give his last name).
Bill Marenich says “When the lilocks Bloom,The smelt start running”.
Here are a couple bits of wisdom from Alaskan Louis Cusack…..
“By the time the fireweed blossoms at the very top, the first snowfall is six weeks away”.
And the story behind the saying “it’s raining cats and dogs”. Louis says it originated back in Old England/Ireland or Scotland and the saying come from when they had a lot of cabins with sod roofs. The cats and dogs would lie on the roof since many of the sod cabins were dug in the side on a hill and when it rained hard enough the roof would cave and down came the cats and dogs.
And finally for now from Michael Terberg…
My father in law was a farmer and he could tell it when it was gonna rain or be very humid by the smell of the pigs , the smell went up just before storms. Also we judged the severity of the winter to come by the amount of fat on a deers back when we took the hide off. Also the old farmers in area would judge by the length of brown on a wooly bear caterpillar in the fall to determine winters harshness.
I’m still looking for more and welcome all input. Thanks.
UPDATE 4/24/13…”Extreme weather brings extreme weather”. Courtesy Eric Sherwood.
UPDATE 7/23/13….
Some cool sayings from weatherman Mark Torregrossa…..
“When the night has a fever, it will rain in the morning”. If the temperature goes up during the night it will rain or snow.
“The quicker the blast, the quicker it’s past”. A storm that comes in fast won’t usually last long.
Here’s one from Mark for boaters……”Curls that kink and bind are a sign of rain and heavy wind”. When the humidity makes mooring lines unmanageable, there’s bad weather coming”.
Thanks Mark for sharing these words of wisdom.
UPDATE 7/26/14…
Here’s one from Karen Polega….
My Mom’s Grandmother used to tell my Mom “When the Rain makes Bubbles on the Ground it will Rain for 3 more Days” Now my Mom tells me that saying when ever there are bubbles when it is raining! & it seems to be True!
UPDATE 3/10/20
This is one I’ve heard before from my Dad. Jeff reminded me about it….”frogs have to freeze three times before it’s spring”. Meaning frogs have to go back into hibernation three times in the mud before spring.
Thanks Jeff!
UPDATE 2/11/24
Adding more old bits of wisdom from listeners….
Brett Hillman says “when there are bubbles in the puddles it’s an all day rain”.
speaking of rain…this one is from Bernie Bierschbach. He says “When it is starting to rain, if the birds continue feeding, it will be an all day rain. If they all disappear, it will be a quick shower.”
from Rick Miller….”When there’s thunder in an empty woods the weather will turn colder. (Empty woods meaning no leaves on the trees).”
ANOTHER UPDATE 2/12/24
Still more from listeners….
Marty Hessler says “if it rains on a full moon, it’ll be a wet month”.
This one from Jeffrey Whelton….”the whitetail rut would always start on the first full moon after the first frost.”
Hi Mike;
You prob know this one. My mom recited it often when she wrote out a check. I taught it to my kids from a Nursery Rhyme Book that I used to read to them.
Just last week I was in line at the grocery store. and a lady ahead of me couldn’t recall how many days there are in May. I recited this saying and a man in line asked me to repeat it so that he could memorize it. And he did!!
Jodi
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone,
To which we twenty-eight assign
‘til Leap Year makes it twenty-nine.
I learned to look at the knuckles on my hands to find out which month has how many days…make a fist…first knuckle is January, the valley next to it February and so on … getting to July, then on to the next hand starting on the knuckle with August through December. Since both July and August have 31 days it works beautifully.
re: the saying that you referred to : “A pint’s a pound year round,” it is actually:
“A pint’s a pound, the WORLD around.”
A pint is 16 ounces of volume, while a pound is 16 ounces of weight. The popular rhyme “A pint’s a pound, the world around” can help you remember this, but keep in mind that they’re not really equivalent.
(from google)
While living in Alaska my husband enjoyed fishing, especially for Salmon and I enjoyed cooking it any way I could. The Copper River has the best Salmon. Locals always say it’s time to fish, “When the Cottonwood flies, the fish are in Chitina”
Mike,
Here’s some:
•When women are looking for men: “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.”
•Alaska Where the Men Are Men and the Women Win The Iditarod
•An old Alaskan saying claims that by the time the fireweed blossoms at the very top, the first snowfall is six weeks away
•When the flowers die on the Fireweed it is six weeks to snow fall.
•Termination Dust. It is a saying they use when the snow line starts working its way down the mountain. It means the summer fishing, Tourist, Road jobs and other seasonal work is about to start lying off employees.
•Two Get-Ups and A Bag Drag. North Slope for two more nights on the Slope and than I take my bags to the airport.
•Rome wasn’t built in a day. But! I wasn’t on that joooooooob. Louis Cusack special I used to use when I was working construction.
•An ounce of want too, beats a pound of know how.
•It’s raining cats and dogs. This is an interesting one. I read somewhere once that it originated back in Old England/Ireland or Scotland (don’t remember) but the saying come from when they had a lot of cabins with sod roofs. The cats and dogs would lie on the roof since many of the sod cabins were dug in the side on a hill and when it rained hard enough the roof would cave and down came the cats and dogs. Who Knows?
•Dirt Poor. The floor in the old days was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dir, hence the saying “dirt poor”.
Good Alaskan knowledge from a good Cajun. Thanks Louis.
My father in law was a farmer and he could tell it when it was gonna rain or be very humid by the smell of the pigs , the smell went up just before storms. Also we judged the severity of the winter to come by the amount of fat on a deers back when we took the hide off. Also the old farmers in area would judge by the length of brown on a wholly bear caterpillar in the fall to determine winters harshness.
Thanks Michael, good stuff. I’ll add them to the list.
When the lilocks Bloom,The smelt start running
Thanks Bill. I’ll add it to the list.
Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.
And thanks again…..
For boaters:
White or brown – run aground
Green or blue – go on through
Thanks Ursula.
As you go through life two rules will never bend. Never whittle towards yourself or pee into the wind.
Weather related…If the ants are building their mounds up high chances are you’ll be getting rain.
A saying my grampa used to tell me that’s not weather related… If a man’s word is no good, he’s no good. That one seems to be rock solid truth.
An old favorite of my German heritage:
Too young, old. Too late, smart.
Its cold enough outside to freeze nuts off a brass monkey! Referring to old ships that had cannons aboard the holders for cannon balls were made out of brass and when got to cold they would shrink and the cannon balls roll off. That is what i was always told!
inch by inch life is a cinch, yard by yard life is hard.
When growing corn – corn should be knee high by the 4th of July.
I like those Derek. Heard that line about knee high by the fourth since I was a kid.