The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
Waiting for Sheila's Brush? Here's some of N.L.'s other weather lore
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Sun dogs are caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals in the atmosphere. When the sun was low on the horizon, the sun dogs arching into the sea looked to sailors like the sun was drawing water. (Rick Bohn/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Many Newfoundlanders will be hoping that the snow headed our way this evening is Sheila's Brush — the last big storm of winter — which, according to legend, always falls shortly after St. Patrick's Day.
Sheila's Brush is one of the few survivors of an enormous body of weather lore that once existed in the province.
For people who lived off the land and the sea, advance knowledge of the weather could mean the difference not only between poverty and prosperity, but between life and death. Heavy rain could ruin a catch of fish set out to dry, a long winter could deplete food stores, and a storm could sink a ship with all hands.
So, before meteorologists, weather apps, and Environment Canada's seven-day forecast, our ancestors relied on rhymes, proverbs and folk wisdom passed down through the generations to predict the weather.
Here's a taste of that forgotten lore.
Animal instincts
Historically, Newfoundland and Labrador's rural residents lived closely with animals, both wild and domestic, and they looked to the behaviour of their non-human neighbours for a hint of what weather might be on the horizon.
If the goats hid under the fish flakes, the bees kept to their hives, or the spiders abandoned their webs, it was a sure sign of rain. The creatures were seeking shelter from a coming downpour.
At sea, fish could signal changes in the weather, too. Schools of herring rushing to the beach presaged wind, while pebbles in the stomachs of freshly caught codfish portended a storm.
Overhead, even the flight pattern of the gulls told a story, as captured in this little ditty:
Seabirds keeping near the land
Tell a storm is near at hand,
But flying seabirds out of sight,
You may stay and fish all night.
The common housecat was perhaps the most versatile meteorologist of them all. Practically every feline behaviour, it seems, could be interpreted as a forecast.
Was the cat scratching at the wall? Strong winds were in the offing. Washing its face? A thaw was on the way. Sitting with its back to the fire? Expect a heavy snowfall. Even a sneeze was not just a sneeze but a potential rainfall warning.
Taking the lay of the land
The natural environment provided its own clues to the coming weather.
You might have heard the saying "red sky at night, sailor's delight." This is just one of the poems linking crimson sunsets to fine weather and crimson dawns to foul. My personal favourite is:
Evening grey and morning red
Sends the traveller wet to bed,
But evening red and morning grey
Sends the traveller on his way.
The shape of the clouds, too, was telling:
Mackerel scales and mare's tails,
Make tall ships carry low sails.
Cirrocumulus clouds that are dappled or banded like the scales of a mackerel and cirrus uncinus clouds that curl at the ends like a horse's tail were thought to foreshadow gusty rain storms, the kind that would force a ship to lower its sails for fear of being capsized.
Mackerel scale cloud formations, as seen at the top right of this photo, and mares' tails, as seen along on the bottom, were a sign that a rainstorm was on the way. (Hugo.arg/Wikimedia Commons)
When the sun is drawing water,
Better bide home with wife and daughter.
The charming image of the sun drawing water refers to sun dogs, a type of solar halo that creates two bright spots on either side of the sun. When the sun is low on the ocean horizon, sun dogs can appear to arch right into the sea, as though the sun is thirsting for water.
Like mare's tails, sun dogs are a predictor of stormy weather — reason for a wise fisherman to stay home with his family rather than set to sea.
Counting the days
Feb. 2 may be Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, but in Newfoundland and Labrador it was Candlemas, which was also considered an opportune time for weather predictions.
N.L.'s folklore is the reverse of Punxsutawney's, where a day sunny enough for the groundhog to see his shadow foretells six more weeks of winter. Here, fine weather signals that winter is almost at an end:
If Candlemas Day be bright and fine,
The worst of the winter is left behind.
If Candlemas Day be rough and grum,
The worst of the winter is yet to come.
Feb. 2, though, wasn't the only significant date for weather. Saints' days throughout the year were thought to forecast the weeks to follow, with a portentous day falling practically every month during the fishing and growing seasons.
You might want to mark these lesser-known holidays on your calendar:
If St. Vitus Day [June 15] is rainy weather,
It will rain for thirty days together.
St. Swithin's Day [July 15] if we have rain,
Forty days it will remain.
If St. Bartlemy Day [Aug. 24] be fair and clear,
Hopes for a prosperous autumn that year.
If St. Matthew's Day [Sept. 21] is bright and clear,
It means good weather for the coming year.
The science behind the sayings
It might have been wishful thinking to believe that the conditions on certain dates would reflect the weather for weeks to follow, but some of the other proverbs have been backed up by science.
After all, science is a system of observation, and what is weather lore based on if not centuries of informal observation?
Take the example of animals sheltering before a storm. Many animals are in fact able to sense the drop in atmospheric pressure that precedes rainy, snowy or windy weather.
Meanwhile, mackerel scales, mare's tails, and sun dogs often appear at the leading edge of warm fronts, which tend to bring storms along with them.
As for Sheila's Brush, well, you don't need to be psychic to know that March in Newfoundland and Labrador always has a few snowstorms in store. The only mystery is whether Sheila's will be the last.
When my son, Justin, was four, he found a caterpillar and put it in a jar. Each day he fed it fresh grass and leaves. In a few weeks the caterpillar was fat and ready to sleep. One morning we discovered the caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon. It hung from the top of the jar, an example of one of nature's wonders.
Justin was excited. To him it was like Christmas. He knew a moth or butterfly was about to be born, but he didn't know what kind. He was curious to know what gift nature was about to give him.
'Dad!' as he ran to me one day. 'Something's happening. Come see!'
He led me to his room. The cocoon had become translucent. We could clearly see the wings of the unborn. A few days later, a beautiful black moth broke free from its silky cage and began to lay eggs on the blades of grass, completing the life cycle of the little caterpillar.
The next day, I convinced my young son it was time to set the moth free. He took it outside, opened the jar, and the little moth flew out. It circled the yard twice, came back, and landed on Justin's arm. He picked it up, tossed it in the air, and the moth repeated its flight pattern. He tried over and over to set it free, but each time it would return to his arm.
Justin gave up. He returned his little pet to the jar. The next day he attempted to set it free again, and after a few return flights to his arm, the moth finally flew off into the tall grass.
Like a person, I believe the moth was afraid to leave what it was comfortable with. It wanted to stay with something familiar, scared to move on and experience new things.
I was once that little moth. My cocoon was my mother's love. I was comfortable wrapped in it. Like the moth, I didn't want to fly too far from it. My first job required me to move to a new city. I resisted. I was afraid. What would I find there? I liked where I was.
Many times in my life, I have faced a move and resisted. Humans are creatures of habit. We resist change. However, if I hadn't moved, I would not have experienced many new and wonderful things. I also would not have met many of my friends.
The moves have been between cities, provinces, states, and even countries. Each move gave me the opportunity to learn and experience, but best of all, I met friends. I hated leaving my old friends behind, but when I think about it, I didn't lose them. They're still my friends. I talk to them regularly. However, I have even more friends now.
I'm glad I found my wings.
Written by Michael T. Smith
You are an original, an individual, a masterpiece. Celebrate that; don't let your uniqueness make you shy. Don't be someone other than the wonder you are. Every star is important to the sky Douglas Pagels
JOY FOR THE SOUL... HOPE FOR THE HEART... BELIEVE AND THEY CAN BE YOURS! BLESSINGS FRIEND.
According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: 'Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?'
The teacher replied, 'You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter. Heartfelt gifts deserve the return gift of gratitude.'
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.
Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.
After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.
Written by Michael Josephson
MAY THE ANGELS SHOWER YOU WITH BLESSINGS DAILY HUGS.