Despite all the scientific talk about "systems" and "fronts" and "highs" and "lows," the forecast – as any Atlantic Canadian well knows - isn't always trustworthy. Without today's advanced technology, past generations relied on traditional wisdom to predict the weather. Everyone's heard of "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning." But have you heard (or relied on) any of these bits of weatherlore?
Rheumatic pain
Is a sure sign of rain.
When the air got damp enough to cause one's rheumatism to act up, it was a sign that rain was on the way.
Gulls flying at great height
Windy weather overnight.
When gulls fly high over sea or land
Stormy weather is close at hand.
If ducks do slide at Hollandtide
At Christmas they will swim.
If the weather is cold enough to freeze the ponds over by November 11, it will warm up enough by Christmas to thaw the ice.
If the goats come home in files
Get your fish in covered piles.
Goats coming home in a single file is an indication of rain.
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.
Long foretold, long last
Short notice, soon past.
Any upcoming type of weather that the barometer indicates well in advance is weather that will last a long time; when a short warning is given, that weather won't last long.
Quick rise after low
Sure sign of a stronger blow.
If the barometer rises quickly after windy weather, it will blow again, only harder.
When the glass falls low, prepare for a blow
When it slowly rises high, lofty sails you may fly.
When the barometer indicates a drop in air pressure, expect strong winds; if the air pressure increases slowly, expect fair winds (if it increases quickly, expect strong winds).
If clouds are gathering, thick and fast
Keep sharp lookout for sail and mast
If they slowly outward crawl
Shoot your lines, net and trawl.
If clouds gather fast, bad weather is on the way; if they spread slowly outward, good weather is coming.
If Candlemas Day (February 2) is fair and fine
The worst of the winter's left behind.
If Candlemas Day is dark and grum,
The worst of the winter is yet to come.
Mackerel sky and mare's tails
Makes lofty ships carry low sails.
When cirrus clouds (clouds made of ice particles) that are sometimes as high as 20,000 feet, take on the shape of the bands on the side of a mackerel or the shape of a mare's tail, expect stormy weather.
Clear moon
Frost soon.
A clear night in the fall indicates frost is on the way.
Saturday's change and Sunday's full
Never brought good and never will.
If the change in the moon is on a Saturday and it is full on Sunday, expect bad weather.
The closer the ring to the moon or sun
The further the weather yet to come.
A ring around the sun or moon indicates bad weather on the way. The smaller the ring, the longer it will take for the weather to arrive.
Bright Northern Lights above the hill,
A fine day, then a storm foretell.
A dripping June
Brings all things in tune
Rain in June is good for the growing of crops.
If the first days in April be foggy
Rain in June will make the grass boggy.
Foggy weather in early April indicates a rainy June.
Rain before seven
Fine before eleven.
If it rains early in the morning, it will be clear before afternoon.
If February gives much snow,
A fine summer it doth foreshow.
If St. Bartlemy Day (August 24) be fair and clear
Hopes for a prosperous autumn that year.
If St. Matthew's Day (September 21) is bright and clear
It means good weather for the coming year.
St. Swithin's Day (July 15) if we have rain
Forty days it will remain.
If St. Vitus Day (June 15) is rainy weather
It will rain for thirty days together.
The evening red, the morning grey
Are surely signs of a fine day
But the evening grey and the morning red
Makes the sailor shake his head.
When the sun is setting in a bank
A westerly wind is on the hank.
If there is a cloud bank on the horizon into which the sun sets, the next day will be a fine one with westerly winds.
When the wind shifts against the sun
Trust it not for back 'twill run.
If the wind turns against the direction of the sun, it will change again shortly.
A nor'wester is never in debt to a southeaster.
A northwest wind is sure to follow a southwest wind, and blow twice as long and twice as hard.
If the wind's in the east on Candlemas Day (February 2)
There it will stick 'til the end of May.
When rain comes before the wind
Halyards sheets and braces mind
But when the wind comes before the rain
Soon you may make sail again.
If it starts to rain before the wind begins to blow, expect strong winds; but if the rain comes after the wind starts, the wind won't amount to much.
When the wind blows from the south
It blows the bait from the fish's mouth
When the wind blows from the north
The skillful fisher goes not forth
When the wind blows from the east
'Tis neither fit for man nor beast
When the wind blows from the west
Then 'tis at its very best.
When the winds of October won't make the leaves go,
There'll be a frosty winter with banks of snow.
When the wind is drawing water
Better bide home with wife and daughter.
When sun rays are visible down to the water, it was said that the sun was drawing water (causing water to evaporate). This was a sign of bad weather ahead.
Do you know an example of weatherlore that we haven't included here? If so, please leave a comment on this article. For all these, plus even more examples of weatherlore, see the Dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador, by Ron Young.
A century ago, believe it or not, reindeer lived on the island of Newfoundland. In the early 1900s, Sir Wilfred Grenfell imported 300 reindeer from Norway with dreams of the population flourishing on the island, providing a new source of food and fur – and a handy draft animal – for Newfoundlanders.
But despite his best intentions, the good doctor had unknowingly set in motion a chain of events that are still felt in Newfoundland today – long after the reindeer have gone.
In the winter of 1908, the reindeer, accompanied by Lapland herding families, arrived. Fifty were trotted to Millertown (for use by the AND Company), while the remaining 250 stayed in St. Anthony.
During the first several years, just as Grenfell had hoped, the reindeer flourished. Eventually, they grew to a population more than 1,000 strong. But a variety of factors – including poaching – caused the herd’s numbers to dwindle. By 1918, what was left of the reindeer were shipped to Canada.
Unfortunately, they left something behind.
Grenfell’s reindeer carried brainworm (the parasite Elaphostrongylus rangiferi), which, while harmless to humans, has deadly consequences for caribou and reindeer. The parasite causes Cerebrospinal Elaphostrongylosis (CSE), a severe neurological disorder. During the reindeer’s decade-long stay in Newfoundland the island’s native caribou became infected with the parasite. The disorder was first detected in Newfoundland’s caribou in the 1970s and has since been found in herds island wide.
With caribou herds all over the province dwindling for a variety of reasons in recent years, the deadly seed Grenfell planted a century ago is yet another odd stacked against them.
For more information on the caribou’s decline – and the measures being taken to bring them back – see the February 2012 issue of Downhome.
You could say Robert Carter’s life turned out to be one long round-trip adventure. Born and raised in Gander, Newfoundland, Robert went to work in the airline business. Over the next 36 years, his career took him to Nova Scotia and Calgary. He is now back in Newfoundland, enjoying retirement in Conception Bay South and pursuing photography with a hobbyist’s passion.
Robert is a relatively new regular submitter to DownhomeLife.com; readers and visitors to the website will have no doubt taken notice of his outstanding scenic photos. But he has been interested in photography for many years, inspired a long time ago by the work of famous Canadian writer and photographer Freeman Patterson of New Brunswick. Now that he is retired and back in Newfoundland and Labrador, Robert has been able to leisurely develop his talents and expand his portfolio.
“I am self-trained, and now in my retirement years I spend a lot of time photographing all areas of Newfoundland, especially the very isolated communities,” Robert says. He is particularly drawn to Change Islands, Fogo, Francois, McCallum, Rencontre East, Southeast Bight, Petit Forte and Isle Valen.
“My favourite photo was taken many years ago of my two sons on a fishing wharf jiggin’ tom cods, or conners, at Isle Valen, Placentia Bay,” Robert says. That photo won first prize in a Canadian Geographic photography contest and third place in an Air Canada photo competition in Frankfurt, Germany. It has also been painted by an artist in Calgary, Alberta and by another in Avondale, Newfoundland. “I still love this picture,” he adds, “especially the facial expressions.”
Typically, Robert carries a Nikon D200 with many lenses. “My favourites are my AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm and AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm lenses,” he says. And he’s recently purchased a Nikon D7000 camera. With these, he shoots in all types of weather and captures the beauty in a variety of subjects including people, fishing villages, boats, wildlife, and other symbols of rural living.
Robert enjoys going out of his way, off the beaten path, to get his photos, and often this approach has its rewards. Once, near Banff National Park, Alberta, he waited for hours to get the perfect shot of a train winding through the snow-capped mountains. “I eventually captured the picture that I wanted and it later won in a photo contest,” Robert says. Proof positive that persistence pays off.
To see a beautiful spread of Robert's photos, see the February 2012 issue of Downhome. For more photos from Robert's collection, click the slideshow below.
Are you an amateur photographer with a great portfolio? Would you like to be featured in an edition of Sure Shots? Tell us a bit about yourself and send us a few sample photos by emailing editorial@downhomelife.com (subject: sure shots).
In today's consumption-driven society, more and more people are resorting back to bartering goods and services both in their communities and online as a way to lessen the amount of waste created and to heighten one's economical lifestyle. What's one way of achieving this? Instead of heading to the nearest retail outlet to breathe some new life into your closet, host a clothing swap with friends and acquaintances. Here's how:
• Invite your friends and ask your friends to invite their friends (about 10 to 15 people is the goal - aim for all shapes and sizes).
• If you are hosting the swap at your house, make sure you have at least two full-length mirrors available.
• To ensure everyone is comfortable, make sure there are other rooms available to dress and undress. If this isn't possible, remind people they can wear a body suit or bathing suit underneath their clothing if they wish.
• Clothes swaps can be seasonal, but they don't have to be. The best clothes swaps have all seasons clothing.
• If two people want the same item, you can have fun with this by either a coin toss, or having each person model the item of clothing and have a vote (do this only if you're sure there won't be hard feelings).
• If you have second thoughts about an item you have up for grabs - speak up quickly. A simple "Hmm, I'm not so sure I'm ready to give that up yet," should suffice, before someone else gets too attached to the item.
• Be prepared for a good time. It’s surprising how much fun you'll have with a group of women trying on clothing!
Source: Marcia Passos Duffy, LifeOrganizers.com
Want to learn more about the movement towards swapping instead of shopping? See "The Return of the Barter System" in the February 2012 issue of Downhome.
Aside from friendly faces, national pride, love of hockey and ability to withstand the harshest of winters, Canadians are perhaps best known for their generous spirit. According to Statistics Canada’s 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP), almost 23 million Canadians, or 84 per cent of residents aged 15 and over, gave money to a charitable or non-profit organization (totalling $10 billion). During the same period, 12.5 million Canadians (46 per cent), volunteered with a group or organization (for a total of 2.1 billion hours – the same as working about 1 million full-time jobs). Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, around 90 per cent of the population made a financial donation to a charitable cause – the highest among the provinces and territories for that year, and above the national average of 84 per cent. If you’d like to get into the giving spirit, here are 10 ways you can help a cause.
Clean up and set sale. Next time you tidy up around the house, gather up all the stuff you don’t use anymore and hold a yard sale. Also, ask your creative friends – quilters, knitters, potters, jewelry makers etc. – if they’d like to peddle their wares for a good cause. Donate all profits to the charity, shelter etc. of your choice. You could even have a sale online using eBay Giving Works, which lets you donate anywhere from 10-100 per cent of the sale price of your items to the registered non-profit of your choice.
Do a good deed. If you don’t have surplus stuff, sell your services. Visit your neighbours or go door-to-door in your community and offer your help with yard work, household chores, grocery shopping, walking or bathing their pets, washing their cars, etc. in exchange for a donation to their favourite charity.
Show and tell. Get together with friends and make a “hit list” of local celebrities you know – everyone from musicians and magicians to clowns and comedians – and ask if they’d be interested in putting off a benefit show for charity. When booking a venue, ask if they would donate to your cause a portion of the proceeds from the evening’s door and drink sales. Advertise the show on social networking sites like Facebook and place fliers in coffee shops, stores and bulletin boards around town.
Take your fundraising crusade online. Websites like GiveMeaning.com let you help your favourite cause with the click of a mouse. After you’ve signed up as a member, submit a proposal describing your fundraising project and ask your family and friends to vote for you. If your proposal receives at least 100 votes in 30 days, it will be given the green light. Supporters of your cause can make a secure payment directly on the site. GiveMeaning takes care of transferring the funds to the recipient charity and issuing tax receipts to eligible Canadian residents.
Be a conscious clicker. Free click donation websites let you help great causes without spending a dime. On these sites, click the donation button to see a page of sponsored advertisers. When you view their ads, advertisers make a small donation to charity. Charityclickdonation.com has a listing of free click sites and “bulk click donators,” which let you donate to several similar causes with just one click.
You can’t have fundraising without the “fun!” You can help lots of great causes simply by playing a fun game. For example, FreeRice (freerice.com) is a game where you have to choose the correct definition of a word; for each right answer, the site donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme. FreePoverty (freepoverty.com) offers a game in which you have to locate a random city or landmark on a map. Each correct answer equals a donation of 10 cups of water to those living in poverty.
Get physical. Consider taking part in a walk/run for charity. Many organizations offer these events each year that use the money you raise from sponsors to help their cause (e.g. Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Run For the Cure, MS Society of Canada’s MS Walk, and Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
If you don’t got the money, perhaps you’ve got the time. If you have some free time, call up or visit a charity that supports your favourite cause and offer a helping hand. Many non-profits are relatively small organizations with a limited staff, so they may be able to use your help with anything from doing routine paperwork to tidying up around the office or picking up supplies.
Use your talents for good. Are you a computer wizard? Perhaps you’re a gifted writer. If you have a unique skill, chances are there’s a charity out there that could use your technical know-how. Offer to repair the charity’s computers free of charge, or write press releases for upcoming events or other announcements, or proofread any outgoing correspondence.
Give back. The next time Christmas or your birthday rolls around, ask for donations to your favourite charity in lieu of gifts. If you’re throwing a house party, tell guests there’ll be a “feel-good” fee to get in. Have a friend “work the door” and collect the donations as a cover charge to attend the party.
If you’re a prolific berrypicker, right about now you’re wondering what other uses you could make of all those berries you’ve picked. How about a refreshing cocktail?
Three tasty berry cocktails are the Bakeapple Mojito, the Blueberry MarTEAni and the Berrypicker Martini. First, there are a few steps to be carried out in advance. For the Bakeapple Mojitos, fill a couple of ice cube trays nearly full with water, drop a bakeapple or two into each section. Freeze.
Next, for the Blueberry MarTEAni, pour a couple of cups of local vodka into a large measuring cup or bowl with a spout. Add a half cup of blueberries and mash them a little into the vodka. Set aside for an hour or longer. (Or you could do this further in advance by dropping the blueberries into the vodka bottle and letting it sit for a couple of weeks.) When ready to use, strain the liquid back into the bottle. (You can keep the blueberries in the vodka if you prefer.)
Finally, you'll need to make homemade Partridgeberry Syrup for the Berrypicker Martini. Here's the recipe:
4 cups partridgeberries
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 tsp citric acid (available at you-brew stores)
Boil berries, sugar and water together in a large pot, skimming off any foam, until berries are practically disintegrated (20 min. or so). Strain through a fine sieve and press berries to release any last bit of juice. Stir in citric acid to dissolve. Cool and store in jars or bottles. You can quick chill in the freezer. (Syrup keeps indefinitely in fridge or cool spot.)
Bakeapple Mojito
White rum
Bakeapples
Fresh mint sprigs
Limes
Sugar
Angostura bitters
Bakeapple ice cubes
Club soda
You’ll need a muddler – a tool to grind the mint and sugar together to release the flavours, usually made of wood. You could also use a wooden spoon. For each mojito, place 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp bakeapples, juice of half a lime and 6 - 8 mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned or lowball glass. Muddle (grind together) until the mint and berries are pulverized and the sugar has dissolved. Add 1½ oz rum. Stir. Add 3 or 4 bakeapple ice cubes to the glass and top up with club soda, a few dashes of bitters and a mint sprig for garnish.
Blueberry MarTEAni
1 oz blueberry infused vodka
½ oz vanilla liqueur such as Galliano or Navan
½ oz orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1 oz cold tea (orange pekoe is fine; vanilla or blueberry flavoured tea is better)
Combine all ingredients in a martini shaker and shake. Rim a martini glass with sugar. Strain cocktail in and garnish with an orange slice.
The Berrypicker Martini
1½ oz local vodka
1½ oz partridgeberry syrup (see recipe, above)
1 oz lime cordial (available at the grocery store)
½ oz dry vermouth
Combine all ingredients in a martini shaker and shake. To serve, strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a few frozen partridgeberries.
All hail the Queen! The Watermelon Queen that is...
From July 21-22, the 2010 Miss Georgia Watermelon Queen, Whitney Leah Conner, 20, visited the Colemans grocery store locations in Mount Pearl and St. John's to help promote watermelon and its many health benefits.
This marked the third time that Colemans, a member of the National Watermelon Association, hosted a visit from a U.S. watermelon queen.
Whitney competed with the nation's eight regional watermelon queens in a contest where they were judged on their poise, personality and knowledge of watermelons.
2010 Miss Georgia Watermelon Queen Whitney Leah Conner greets a young watermelon lover.
Did you know?
Watermelon comes in many sizes, shapes and colours. Some are red inside; others are yellow. Some have seeds; other do not.
The watermelon is the fruit of a large vine, which grows flat on the ground. The watermelon, with vines, which grow from 12-15 feet, is part of the same family as pumpkins, cantaloupes and squash.
The watermelon flower is not very showy and must be pollinated, generally by honeybees, to produce fruit.
Watermelon varies in size from the five-pound "Sugar Baby" to the "Jubilee," which can weigh as much as 40 pounds.
Watermelon has many health benefits including:
1. Energy production
2. Protects against macular degeneration
3. Fights heart disease
4. Loaded with antioxidants
5. Reduces the risk of cancer
6. Prevents erectile dysfunction
7. Good source of vitamins and minerals
Check out the video to find out more about the health benefits of watermelon, straight from the watermelon queen herself, Miss Whitney Leah Conner!
