Again, and this a sign everybody knows:
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That distant hills look near.
As indeed they do before rain, and many times one hears—“such a place is too clear to-day”—or, “One can see such a land much too well,” and this means near rain.
Like the swallows so do rooks change their flight before rain, and so, also, do plover, for it is noticed:
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That rooks will glide low on the wind, and drop quickly. And plover fly in shape almost as a kite and will not rise high, one or two of the flock being posted sentinels at the tail of the kite formation.
Then, if the shepherd is near to a dew-pit, or any water meadow, or passing by a roadside ditch he will notice:
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That toads will walk out across the road. And frogs will change colour before a storm, losing their bright green and turning to a dun brown.