D-DAY: Some readers remember exactly where they were 64 years
ago. Invading Europe perhaps? Yes, today is the anniversary of the
D-Day invasion of World War II that cost so many lives but was
decisive in the war.

A WET TAIL?: Joyce Jordan down in Johnsonburg called to see if
any readers had heard of a weather saying that pertains to 40-days
of rain, remarked of a wet tail or rope, and has something to do
with the Catholic religion.

Joyce tells us she remembers relatives using the saying but now,
so many years later, she just can’t recall the exact words.

We were stumped and so turned to the handy-dandy Internet which
had hints of this saying – and a whole lot more.

We pass them along today and tomorrow.

The one saying that struck us as having the most possibilities
to match up with Joyce’s recollection was, “St. Swithin’s Day if it
do rain, for 40 days it will remain./St. Swithin’s Day if it be
fair, for 40 days will rain no more.”

Not perfect but it does mention 40 days of rain and since it
references a saint, one could argue it’s “Catholic-ness.”

Maybe one of our Catholic friends in St. Marys would know
more.

Our next question, of course, is … when is St. Swithin’s
Day?

Another one of the sayings is, “Mackerel sky and mares’ tails
make tall ships carry low sails.” (There’s our “tails,” right?)

Meanwhile, our Internet source of information notes that weather
forecasters are not the only people who predict the weather. These
many traditional sayings and proverbs have helped ordinary people
predict the weather for centuries.

The source of most of the sayings is unknown. In the past, when
people lived and worked on the land, the weather was very important
and they watched for patterns to help them predict the future
weather. They then made up rhymes to help them to remember these
patterns. Some of these sayings do have a grain of truth. Others,
which try to predict the weather for the following season from a
single event, are unlikely to ever be true.

Here’s a few today; more tomorrow:

“Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight; red sky in the morning,
shepherd’s warning.”

“Rain before seven, fine by eleven.”

“A sunshiny shower won’t last half an hour.”