Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus

Well, Spring has sprung, it’s pancake day, and of course it’s St. David’s day, so ‘Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus‘ to all you Welsh speakers.

As one proverb says ‘March (has) many weathers‘ so it’s not surprising that there are many proverbs foretelling the weather.

If we have a wet month, we might say:

A wet March makes a sad harvest.

March rain spoils more than clothes.

March water is worse than a stain in cloth.

Or if it’s dry:

A dry and cold March never begs its bread.

A peck of March dust is worth a king’s ransom.

A bushel of March dust is a thing
Worth the ransom of a king.

A March without water
Dowers the hind’s daughter.

That last one is French — you tell me what it means, other than the omens are bad.

If it’s sunny:

A March sun sticks like a lock of wool.

Even Shakespeare manages to get one in¹:

Worse than the sun in March,
This praise doth nourish agues.

For thundery weather:

When it thunders in March it brings sorrow.

When March thunders, tools and arms get rusty,

When it thunders in March we may cry alas!

Frosts and mists both foretell of a frosty May:

So many frosts in March, so many in May.

So many mists in March you see,
So many frosts in May will be.

And if March is mild:

March flowers
Make no summer bowers.

March grass never did good.

When gnats dance in March it brings death to sheep.

What are we left with? Winds:

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

March comes in with Adder’s heads and goes out with Peacock’s tails.

Who needs the Met Office.

All taken from an 1869 book entitled “Weather Lore: A collection of proverbs, sayings, and rules concerning the weather”².

Today’s featured image is, of course, Roseberry Topping, Yorkshire’s finest hill, with the white cottages of Gribdale Terrace stage front.

1
Henry IV, Part 1, Act 4, Scene 1.
2
Inwards, R. “Weather Lore: A collection of proverbs, sayings, and rules concerning the weather”. Published by W. Tweedie, London 1869.

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