Calvin Nichols is an artist who creates incredible paper sculpture. I discovered his website through Eugene, a blogger for My Modern Metropolis, my favorite art/design site.
A brief mention of New England weather in my Bruins post yesterday led me to do a little research on New England proverbs. As always the Internet was clear and definitive-weather proverbs make absolutely no sense at all unless, of course, they do. The ones that don't had their origins back in old England where they many may have come from the Bible. It says something about the innate conservatism of the British that they never noticed the weather proverbs for rainy England came from the desert!
Most weather proverbs that work don't really predict the weather, they indicate current conditions. For example high flying geese in migration are a sign of good weather because migrating birds fly higher in high pressure cells which are associated with good weather. To forecast the weather you'd have to note the period when the migration changes from high to low flight. This proverb works because birds fly to their comfort zone when migrating to ease energy use and pressure decreases with height.
Here's one to check out this summer: "A cow with its tail to the west, makes weather the best; a cow with its tail to the east, makes weather the least." Cows do tend to graze with their tails to the wind apparently not bothered by the methane loaded farts that blow past their faces. Since east winds in New England tend to bring rain (and a lack of home runs at Fenway Park), cows turning around could signal a weather change. Here's my challenge-does this work for sheep? Route 138 runs north to south so as you drive by Sheep Pasture check out the orientation of our woolies and compare it with the wind. An alternative is buying your own cow weather vane!
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