Butch Has Old Method to Predict Weather

   I very seldom watch TV because there are very few entertaining shows and programs. I would much rather read a good book or work on my hobbies. However, I always listen to the weather forecast while eating supper and then again at 10:30 before hitting the sack.

  While doing some work outside this past summer, I heard the mourning doves cooing more than usual. The sky in the west had turned a dark blue and I knew a storm was approaching. Then it dawned on me that the doves knew rain was coming, too. I remembered my Grandma and Grandpa Dale telling me that a person can predict the weather by observing animal and insect behavior. Here are some examples that many people swear by…

…If pigs scratch their backs on a fence post, it’s going to rain, and if they start rooting a hole in the dirt, it will be a very hot day.

…If squirrels are fat during the fall, and are frantically gathering nuts, it will be a long cold winter.

…If sheep begin gathering together in a tight group, then rain or snow is on the way.

…If you see bats flying late at night, the weather will be good.

…When you see a mouse in your house in the fall, you can expect that a cold spell will follow.

…If birds fly low, you can expect rain and windy conditions.

…When flies start biting, it’s going to rain soon.

…Bad weather is on the way when cats and dogs become restless.

…If cows lie down in the pasture, rain is on the way, and if they start swinging their tails, a severe storm is approaching.

…Horses start sniffing the air when rain is coming, and they will turn their hind ends toward the rain.

…The louder a frog croaks, the more rain we will have.

…Dogs, wolves, and coyotes will howl more before a bad storm.

…If hornets build their nests high, we will have more snow during the winter.

…Geese honk loudly before a storm.

…If you see a spider destroy its web or if you see ants traveling in a line, a storm will soon follow.

…Robins chirp and sing continually before a big rain.

…Butterflies cling to trees and the underside of leaves before a heavy rain.

…If a fuzzy caterpillar has a heavy dark coat, it will be a cold winter. But if there is a brown band between the two black bands, the winter will have a mild month between December and March.

…And lastly, you can tell what the temperature is by counting the number of chirps that a cricket makes in 14 seconds, and then add 40 to that number. The total is the current temperature!

Well, those are a few ways that people predicted weather back in the day. Some may be true, and others just folklore with no scientific basis. But I will definitely listen to the mourning doves to predict an oncoming rain storm!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.