Flowers with wet, wet feet. No garden work this week.
(illustration by Arthur Rackham)Perhaps that's a little harsh. We don't really want the rain to leave, but it would be nice to see a little sun sometime. The past two weeks have been pretty much rainy days. The gardens are still happy but much more of this and we'll see some problems--rot, leeching out of nutrients, lodging the the stems, etc.
The vegetable garden continues to thrive. Don't mind Larry's weird scarecrow. The man is warped. A skull with deer antlers and a red light inside? Sheesh.
Around here, people predict rain (or lack of it) by watching the "signs." Some think of the signs as the Zodiac, but generally my neighbors are referring to what they observe in nature. Here is a list of some of the things I have learned about rain since living in the country:
A broken bone,even if it's long mended, will ache before rain or a change for the worse in the weather.
A tipped-up moon holds the rain.
If after a rain you can see enough blue sky to make a Dutchman a pair of breeches, it will clear (this one was from my English mother).
If the crow flies low, it's going to blow (as in a storm).
Biting flies means rain will fly.
No dew on the grass in the morning (or in the evening, depending on who you talk to) is a sign of rain
When chairs squeak, of rain they speak. Catchy drawer and sticky door, Coming rain will pour and pour. Humidity makes wood swell, so this makes sense. I heard this from a teacher not too long ago.
A ring around the moon means rain or snow coming soon--according to my neighbors, the number of stars within the ring predicts how many days before the rain comes.
If sound is traveling long distances, stormy weather is on the way. We can sometimes hear the tugboat horns on the Ohio River, or the train whistles on the tracks about 15 miles away when rain is coming.
When leaves show their undersides, rain is coming-probably because the wind has changed direction with a coming storm.
Sugar and salt clogging up in bowls and shakers means high humidity, and the possibility of rain.
Red sky at night, sailor's delight, red sky in morning, sailor take warning. I think we've all heard this one, and it's generally true.
Chimney smoke lays on the ground, rainy weather is coming round.
Thunder in the morning, all day storming, but thunder at night is the travelers delight
All smells are stronger before a storm--flowers, barnyards, stagnant water; this is due to the low barometer pressure which holds the smells down, just as it keeps smoke from rising.
The Four Dragons
Once upon a time, there were no rivers and lakes on earth, but only the Eastern Sea, in which lived four dragons: the Long Dragon, the Yellow Dragon, the Black Dragon and the Pearl Dragon. One day the four dragons flew from the sea into the sky. They soared and dived, playing at hide-and-seek in the clouds.
"Come over here quickly!" the Pearl Dragon cried out suddenly.
"What's up?" asked the other three, looking down in the direction where the Pearl Dragon pointed.
On the earth they saw many people putting out fruits and cakes, and burning incense sticks. They were praying! A white-haired woman, kneeling on the ground with a thin boy on her back, murmured,
"Please send rain quickly, God of Heaven, to give our children rice to eat."
For there had been no rain for a long time. The crops withered, the grass turned yellow and fields cracked under the scorching sun.
"How poor the people are!" said the Yellow Dragon. "And they will die if it doesn't rain soon."
The Long Dragon nodded. Then he suggested, "Let's go and beg the Jade Emperor for rain."
So saying, he leapt into the clouds. The others followed closely and flew towards the Heavenly Palace. Being in charge of all the affairs in heaven on earth and in the sea, the Jade Emperor was very powerful. He was not pleased to see the dragons rushing in.
"Why do you come here instead of staying in the sea and behaving yourselves?"
The Long Dragon stepped forward and said, "The crops on earth are withering and dying, Your Majesty. I beg you to send rain down quickly!"
"All right. You go back first, I'll send some rain down tomorrow." The Jade Emperor pretended to agree while listening to the songs of the fairies.
The four dragons responded, "Thanks, Your Majesty!"
The four dragons went happily back. But ten days passed, and not a drop of rain came down. The people suffered more, some eating bark, some grass roots, some forced to eat white clay when they ran out of bark and grass roots. Seeing all this, the four dragons felt very sorry, for they knew the Jade Emperor only cared about pleasure, and never took the people to heart. They could only rely on themselves to relieve the people of their miseries. But how to do it? Seeing the vast sea, the Long Dragon said that he had an idea.
"What is it? Out with it, quickly!" the other three demanded.
"Look, is there not plenty of water in the sea where we live? We should scoop it up and spray it towards the sky. The water will be like rain drops and come down to save the people and their crops," said Long Dragon.
"Good idea!" said the others as they clapped their hands.
"But," said the Long Dragon after thinking a bit, "we will be blamed if the Jade Emperor learns of this."
"I will do anything to save the people," the Yellow Dragon said resolutely.
"Then let's begin. We will never regret it," said Long Dragon.
The Black Dragon and the Pearl Dragon were not to be outdone. They flew to the sea, scooped up water in their mouths, and then flew back into the sky, where they sprayed the water out over the earth. The four dragons flew back and forth, making the sky dark all around. Before long the sea water became rain pouring down from the sky.
"It's raining! It's raining! The crops will be saved!" the people cried and leaped with joy.
On the ground the wheat stalks raised their heads and the sorghum stalks straightened up. The god of the sea discovered these events and reported to the Jade Emperor.
"How dare the four dragons bring rain without my permission!" said the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor was enraged, and ordered the heavenly generals and their troops to arrest the four dragons. Being far outnumbered, the four dragons could not defend themselves, and they were soon arrested and brought back to the heavenly palace.
"Go and get four mountains to lay upon them so that they can never escape!" The Jade Emperor ordered the Mountain God.
The Mountain God used his magic power to make four mountains fly there, whistling in the wind from afar, and pressed them down upon the four dragons. Imprisoned as they were, they never regretted their actions.
Determined to do good for the people forever, they turned themselves into four rivers, which flowed past high mountains and deep valleys, crossing the land from the west to the east and finally emptying into the sea. And so China's four great rivers were formed -- the Heilongjian (Black Dragon) in the far north, the Huanghe (Yellow River) in central China, the Changjiang (Yangtze, or Long River) farther south, and the Zhujiang (Pearl) in the very far south.
The story is from this website, although it's available widely online: http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Angier/DimSum/Fourdragons%20Folk%20Tale.html . A print version can be found in Dragon Tales: A Collection of Chinese Stories. Beijing: Chinese Literature Press, 1988.
Larry is quite creative when it comes to scarecrows!!
ReplyDeleteAmy
He is indeed! I fear it reflects his inner turmoil...not. I love his imagination; he keeps me surprised.
ReplyDeleteSend some rain our way we need it here!
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts about prediciting rain.
"Sugar and salt clogging up in bowls and shakers means high humidity, and the possibility of rain" This one also could mean you live in Florida....where it is always humid! LOL
Tracey
lol, tracey! you're right--or in VA in the summer. I remember how the sugar would lump together in the bowl.
ReplyDeleteI used to keep rice in my salt shaker when I lived there, it seemed to help the salt flow. But I well remember shoes molding overnight. Yuck. That was in northern VA, I don't think all of the state is like that.
What a lovely story, I haven't heard this before. The weather sayings are interesting, most of them I know from my mum although the Dutchmnan's breeches are a pair of trousers for a sailor in my version and the red sky is sometimes a sailor's, sometimes a shepherd's delight. Depends whether you live inland or by the sea I suppose. Enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteI think you might have it right, Rowan--enough blue for a Dutchman to make a sailor a pair of breeches. That sounds more like what Mom said.
ReplyDeleteWe're soaked in rain too--hope it brightens soon for all of us!
ReplyDeleteLoved the dragon story.
Thanks for sharing these. They reminded me of ones my grandmother used to say.
ReplyDeleteLordy, Granny Sue, I feel like I only get over here once a year these days. Anyhow - This rain everyone is getting is a huge system! I love the weather sayings - oral tradition is ignored too often nowadays. Beautiful story too!
ReplyDeleteI tell you what, the arthritis in my wrist (from my accident in '99, yep its been that long) is definitely worse than its ever been. Too much rain, way too long. Its been wrapped in a bandage for over a day and I've got my copper bracelet on to help.
ReplyDelete