On Tue, 14 Apr 2015 23:30:24 +0100
wrote:

In message 20150413142709.2822a43b@linux-pkou
Graham P Davis wrote:

On Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:44:48 +0100
Asha Santon wrote:

On 13/04/15 12:30, Scott W wrote:
Which begs the question 'where did the saying come from?'. I'm
sure there's a botanical reason.

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Tim-Se...ally-mean-dry-
summer/story-20952021-detail/story.html

http://www.theweatherclub.org.uk/fea...-the-folklore-
oak-and-ash

DuckDuckGo is your friend.

I have to say that I've never heard of this proverb and a quick
check around suggests I don't know anyone who has either.


It used to be a well-known saying but may have gone out of fashion,
perhaps like this one about the cuckoo:

Cuckoo, cuckoo, what do you do?
In April I open my bill;
In May I sing all day;
In June I change my tune;
In July away I fly;
In August away I must.


Or the version I learned from my mother many years ago:

The cuckoo comes in April,
He sings his song in May.
In the middle of June he changes his tune
July he flies away.



That's closer to the way I remember it.

I suppose I ought to explain the meaning of the rhyme for those like
the Springwatch "expert" who are in ignorance. In April and May, the
song of the cuckoo is the one everyone is familiar with, i.e.,
"Cuckoo". However, in June the poor old thing is getting a bit tired
and confused, forgets the tune and throws in an extra note so it
becomes "cuck-cuck-coo" - or is it "cuck-coo-cuck", I can't remember
as it's been decades since I've heard the bird.

The cuckoo has another song, which my Observer's Book of Birds
describes as "low, harsh calls like coughing or clearing the throat."
The first time I heard it, I was walking along a bridleway with
overarching trees and it sounded as though someone was up one of the
trees laughing at me. It was much like the dirty laugh you'd get from
Sid James.

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks. [Retd meteorologist/programmer]
http://www.scarlet-jade.com/
I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Posted with Claws: http://www.claws-mail.org/