“Red sky at morning” is not always the “shepherd’s warning” or, for that matter, the “sailor’s warning.” Sometimes, just sometimes, it promises a pleasant day for the shepherd and a dry fleece for his sheep. Naturally, so the shepherds say, this depends entirely on whether the red sky “goes over” or stays sulking in the east. If rain is on the way, every passing cloud will catch the ominous glow. And the true harbinger of rain? Not red, but a dismal, murky crimson that quickly withers into a soggy grey.
As for this morning’s grand spectacle in the southern sky over the Lakeland fells — lilac and pink clouds theatrically clashing over a gloomy landscape below — what did it all mean? Spoiler: it rained. Shepherds were duly warned.
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