Folk knowledge

I don"t know what else to really call it, but what are some of the things you"ve heard from the "older" generation (and yes, I know many of ya"ll fit into that category now.....LOL)that help you out today. I know some of those things maybe sound a bit strange, and some may even against the grain as far as "modern" thinking, but never-the-less turn out to be true when you really take the time to look at the situation?

Personally I can think of two things right off I heard growing up. Both came from a Great Uncle who lived next door to us.

One was that if you saw birds out feeding in the rain that it was going to rain all day. I"ve paid attention to that bit of advice for probably 30 plus years now, and found that it holds true 99.9999% of the time. On rare occasions I"ve seen them get fooled and be out feeding in the rain, and it then stop before dark, but all other times if it"s going to stop you don"t see them until it does, or if it"s going to continue they are out feeding just as they would if it wasn"t raining.

The second thing is one of those that sounds a bit strange, and it concerns male dogs and establishing dominance with them. My Uncle always had quite a few hunting dogs, and he swore by this advice. First he told me to watch how male dogs always try to hike their leg as high as it will go. He said the height of the scent from them marking their territory helped establish who was "The Big Dog" in the neighborhood. That being the case, scent, and marking territory was one thing all male dogs understood and "respected". That being the case, if you had a really stobburn dog that absolutely would not listen and do as he was told, that you needed to establish dominance and let him know who was boss. To do that you basically "marked YOUR territory" on his head. Basically by doing it on his head, there is no way he can throw his scent higher than yours, and he instinctively knows it. To him that makes you a 'bigger dog' than he is, and establishes your dominance in his mine with no questions.
Now I will neither confirm nor deny that I have tried this advice, but I will say that I have a male lab that now listens to me......

So, what are some of the other bits of folk knowledge have ya"ll had passed to you that you remember and have found to be true?

Plant corn when the leaves on the trees are as big as a squirrell's ear.

our little ernie has been getting a little unruly lately, but i don't know about trying your theory. i think the the old man would probably try to get me admitted in the looney bin if he caught me running around with my pants off chasing ernie around trying to pee on his head.

"establishes your dominance in his mine"

We need MORE info... Gold mine? Diamond mine? Coal mine? Or?????

Regarding summer rain; which tree leafs out first.
Oak before ash summer with a splash, Ash before oak dust will make you choke. Oak first here this year.

If you see gophers cleaning out their tunnels, making mounds, then it will rain within 3 days.

One I always herd growing up was NEVER p on a dog's head, You might get bit, Always made sense to Me.

I don"t know whether that theory works between man and dog, but I have seen it applied between dog and cat. My son picked up a stray dog and brought it home. We wondered how well the grumpy old cat was gonna handle the new arrival.

When we released the dog into the house, the first thing he did was go over to the cat, hiked his leg, and wet that cat down. I guess it worked because from that day forward, the dog was the dominant animal between the two!

I heard that if you see turtles crossing the road, you were going to get rain. I have watched them for the better part of 20 years, and it is pretty true. Last night there were a bunch of turtles on the road. With in 30 minutes it was raining hard. I think we are up to 2 1/2 inches in 7 days. The sandhills look amazing this year!!!!

Our rather large lab/shepherd/husky mix is pretty shy of the cats. He goes over to snuff them, and they instantly go into a defensive posture - he apparently got a face full of claws once or twice... Backs off real quick. Cats rule!

Don't eat the yellow snow.

When there's a cloud cap over Mt. Rainier, there will be rain in 2 days.

the younger folk should be seen and not heard...hint hint

My Dad told me this and he also told me it only works in Minnesota - Precipitation will follow horse-tail (cirrus) clouds in 12 hours. In my experience,in Minnesota, you can count on it.
Anymore, a lot of people need to be told to not wrap their thumb around the crank handle when starting an engine.

A fellow once told me about the folk tale of if when flood waters were to have ice freeze on top of them and then the water drops then the water will rise back up to meet it's ice like 3 times I think it was ?
So basically you will have a wet spring with multiple flooding.
So far I kind of look for this after hearing that and I think he was right.

Me and my Dad made one up on afternoon:

If the wind is from the east, the fishing is least.
If the wind is from the west, the fishing is best.
If the wind is from the north, don't go forth.
If the wind is from the south, well hush my mouth.

Also I have heard, if cows are laying down it is gonna rain.
And if cows are laying down, it's a good time to go fishing.

Pooh Bear

Well, yeah. The only way a cat can clean itself is with it"s tongue

Run it all you want without gas, just don't run it without oil.

Check the oil and water, the gas will take care of itself.

"Anymore, a lot of people need to be told to not wrap their thumb around the crank handle when starting an engine."

And pull up on the crank, don't push down on it.

Don't use ether

(quoted from post at 13:51:10 06/02/14) Me and my Dad made one up on afternoon:

If the wind is from the east, the fishing is least.
If the wind is from the west, the fishing is best.
If the wind is from the north, don't go forth.
If the wind is from the south, well hush my mouth.

Also I have heard, if cows are laying down it is gonna rain.
And if cows are laying down, it's a good time to go fishing.

Pooh Bear

Click to expand...

Always heard if cows laying do NOT go fishing