February 2nd is Ground Hog Day. A day that goes without much fanfare. Seriously, though. How are we supposed to trust an animal to predict the weather? Well, as it turns out, animals have a long and storied history in weather prediction.
For instance, if animals are wearing heavy fur, you can expect a hard winter. That makes sense. But, how about the saying that if you step on an ant, there will be rain? Had I known this months ago, I would have stepped on every ant I saw in a tri-county area!
If birds gather on the ground in multitudes, there will be snow very soon. Or, it could be a sign that the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, “The Birds” is actually coming true!
If a bob-white says, “Bob” only once, and does not repeat the first note, there will be rain. If the bob-white chirps “Veronica,” start building a boat!
If a cat sleeps before the fire with its nose turned up, there will be rain soon.
When a cat runs about the house and plays, you can expect high winds. Or, in this area, if a cat does virtually anything at all, expect high winds. Even if you don’t have a cat, expect high winds. When you get up in the morning, just go ahead and expect high winds.
You may expect rain if you see a chicken lying on its side. You might also expect a chicken dinner later in the day, because it sounds to me like that chicken is dead!
Yellow butterflies in the fall show that within ten days there will be enough frost to turn the leaves the color of the butterflies.
And a few that have nothing to do with animals:
If a chimney that is blown from your house during a storm falls on the left of the house, you will have bad luck. It could be that the chimney being blown from your house itself was the harbinger of bad luck. I am not really sure it matters on which side the chimney fell!
Pink clouds in the west forecast rain in the near future.
Three successive cloudy mornings mean there will be rain on the third.
Cobwebs on the grass are a sure sign of rain.
If you take the last piece of bread from a plate by accident, you may look for rain. Now, I am having issue with this one. At every meal in which bread is served, someone always gets the last piece. So, shouldn’t it be raining constantly at this point?
Anyway, these are just a few things for you to think about as you watch the skies and search for rain. Did your family have any weather superstitions?
