It’s still March, but I’ve seen photos that can only mean spring is on its way: early crocuses, sap buckets and tiny buds on some trees.
Depending on where you live, it might be too early, but we’ll soon have to start watching for buds. Grandma paid close attention to which trees were first to bud. She believed oak and ash trees could tell you something about how wet the upcoming season would be. Imagine!
According to popular belief, the order in which these trees bud holds the answer. As was so often the case with oral history, a rhyme was made up to more easily remember the information:
“Oak before ash, only a splash; Ash before oak, we’re in for a soak.”
Grandma wasn’t the only with an eye on spring buds. A few days ago, Lalia Kerr reached out to share some of her father’s weather wisdom with me. Her dad used to say:
“If the ash comes out before the oak, it will be a summer of heat and smoke; if the oak comes out before the ash, expect a summer or rain and splash.”
If you read these carefully, you’ll see they are contradictory! I’ve come across this before and can only surmise the weather rhyme is specific to certain regions.
I’d like to know which version of this popular weather folklore you’ve come to trust. Don’t forget to tell me where you or your ancestors are from.
Please email your comments and observations to me at weathermail@weatherbyday.ca
I’ll publish my findings on Tuesday.
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