Ya, say that five times fast!  It is actually folklore not fancies, but “lore”  is not an “f” word.  This outstanding spring day/Friday Funny is brought to you courtesy of my wonderful Farmers Almanac – Spring Weather Lore and More!

I have heard of most of them. However this one is a newbie for me and had me laughing:

• A cold and moist April fills the cellar and fattens the cow

 (notice she is purple!)

WHAT?

I have now and have had cellar’s, and have had cows.  I have seen cold and warm, moist and dry April’s.  But I have NEVER heard this saying!  And just how is that supposed to work?  Why would a cold and moist (ok, moist I get) April fatten the cow?

Our bigger farmers start their first cutting of hay around early to mid-May, so it behooves (yes, I used that word) of them to wish for a moist April.  They also use irrigation systems and are on metered water from the state, so any help they get from a wet April would be very welcome and feed cows later in the year.  But why cold?

Cooler here (above freezing 32°F or better if it stays above 38°F at night) means a better chance for our spring cool-weather crops to make it before we hit the hotter stuff.  Asparagus, carrots, peas, beets, will all give us a spring and a fall crop (I am talking outside, not in our greenhouse) if the weather is what it should be.  We usually start potatoes and onions in late March or early April to avoid the worst of the bug predators.  About mid-April is corn, and then you start praying there is no deep freeze.  Then there is the issue of my good bugs!  They are showing up already, should I worry about their safety?

With that all being said – I am loving the weather right now – perfect 70°F-ish – rain every few days – nights above freezing.  If it were my call, I would have it like this year-round except for Thanksgiving through till the 5^th of the new year.  I gotta have my chilly holidays and my white Christmas!