Old wives' tales

I'm an old wife, and I've got a lot of tales to tell!
There are so many "sayings" and some hold truth and some don't. One of my favorites is "red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight." Although we are inland, I've found this to be a pretty good indicator of storms or good weather coming.
My mother had a silver thimble that she always put upside down on her sewing table "so the luck wouldn't run out." I've also heard of this with horse shoes over doorways, open side up.
Do you have any old wives' tales to share? (You needn't be an old wife, by the way!)

 

This should be an interesting thread...
Thank you, Mzz Jane, for starting it..
Hank

 

Hmmm ... how about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. OR the opposite in like a lamb and out like a lion. Seems to work!

 

'Don't count your chickens before they hatch'.

 

We've got a lot of weather forecast signs. They used to be pretty accurate but not for the last three-four years. I guess it has to do with global warming, the El Nino-effect and whatnot.

- If the rowan has a lot of berries in autumn we won't get a lot of snow during winter because the rowan won't carry a heavy load twice. (Inland it's the opposite, lots of berries, lots of snow.)
- Snow on green leaves in autumn will give snow on green leaves in spring. (Early winter, late spring.)
- If the magpie builds its nest high up we'll have a good summer.
- If the swallows fly high, the weather will be nice. If they fly close to the ground we can expect rain.

Lastly something I try to live by. An old woman told me that one should be careful around small wounds and small people (meaning people coming from poor conditions) because both might get big some day.

 

SAWs of the Old Farmer: [check out my use of the word 'saw'!]

1. Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
2. Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
3. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
4. A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
5. Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.
6. Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
7. Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
8. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
9, It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
10. You cannot unsay a cruel word.
11, Every path has a few puddles.
12. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
13. The best sermons are lived, not preached.
14. Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
15. Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
16. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
17. Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
18. Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
19. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
20. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
21. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
22. The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
23. Always drink upstream from the herd.
24. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
25. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
26. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..
27. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
28. Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
29. Most times, it just gets down to common sense.
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Some pretty good ones in that list..
Love to all, Hank....

 

Oh, Hank, those are so good! I particularly like #7, 17, and 27. I'll print out your list and try to live by most of it (#28 excepted) daily!