Old Weather Rhymes.
If New Year's eve night-wind blow south,
It betokeneth warmth and growth;
If west, much milk, and fish in the sea;
If north, much cold, and storms there will be;
If east, the trees will bear much fruit;
If north-east, flee it, man and brute.
If St. Paul's day be fair and clear,
It does betide a happy year;
But if it chance to snow or rain,
Then will be dear all kinds of grain;
If clouds or mists do dark the skie,
Great store of birds and beasts shall die;
And if the winds do fly aloft,
Then wars shall vex the kingdome oft.
A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spune;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.
The hind had as lief see his wife on the bier,
As that Candlemas-day should be pleasant and clear.
If Candlemas-day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;
But if Candlemas-day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone, and will not come again.
When Candlemas-day is come and gone,
The snow lies on a hot stone.
If Candlemas is fair and clear,
There'll be twa winters in the year.
February fill dike, be it black or be it white;
But if it be white, it's the better to like.
When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn,
Sell your cow and buy your corn;
But when she comes to the full bit,
Sell your corn and buy your sheep.
If the cock moult before the hen,
We shall have weather thick and thin;
But if the hen moult before the cock,
We shall have weather hard as a block.
When the wind's in the south,
It blows the bait into the fishes' mouth.
As the days lengthen
So the colds strengthen.
If there be a rainbow in the eve,
It will rain and leave;
But if there be a rainbow in the morrow,
It will neither lend nor borrow.
A rainbow in the morning
Is the shepherd's warning;
But a rainbow at night
Is the shepherd's delight.
No tempest, good July,
Lest corn come off blue by.
When the wind's in the east,
It's neither good for man nor beast;
When the wind's in the south,
It's in the rain's mouth.
When the sloe-tree is as white as a sheet,
Sow your barley, whether it be dry or wet.
No weather is ill
If the wind be still.
Winter's thunder
Is summer's wonder.
St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain;
St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain na mair.
The bat begins with giddy wing
His circuit round the shed and tree;
And clouds of dancing gnats to sing
A summer night's serenity.
At New Year's tide,
The days are lengthened a cock's stride.
If the red sun begins his race,
Expect that rain will fall apace.
The evening red, the morning gray,
Are certain signs of a fair day.
If woolly fleeces spread the heavenly way,
No rain, be sure, disturbs the summer's day.
In the waning of the moon,
A cloudy morn—fair afternoon.
When clouds appear like rocks and towers,
The earth's refresh'd by frequent showers.
As the days grow longer
The storms grow stronger.
Blessed is the corpse that the rain falls on.
Blessed is the bride that the sun shines on.
He that goes to see his wheat in May,
Comes weeping away.