Country: Nature Notes
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."OAK BEFORE ash, we're in for a splash," says the old adage. "Ash before oak, we're in for a soak." This year the race has been a close one. Oaks came out into their buttery yellow buds long before their rivals were showing any sign of life; but then, in the cold winds, they seemed to hang fire. The leaves took a long time to open fully, and now the ashes have caught up.
Presumably this suggests that the summer will be mixed. But do old country sayings have any real validity? The present state of the leaves is more likely to reflect the weather of the past season than to predict what lies ahead, and it was probably the vast amount of rain which we had last winter that influenced the oak-ash balance.
The same is true of wild fruit in autumn. A heavy crop of hawthorn or rowan berries is said to presage a hard winter, and to be nature's way of providing extra food for birds. A more practical explanation is that it results from good weather in summer.
Nobody now believes, as our rural ancestors did, that pigs can see the wind. Nevertheless, some old sayings do seem to contain meteorological wisdom. Red sky at morning is still shepherd's warning, and red sky at night still shepherd's delight.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments