This motley collection of books are a few of the ones I have plucked from my bookshelves this week. Most have cost just a few pence, from charity shops, book sales, etc.
The weather lore book on the right hand side is the youngest of them, it was published in 1981 and is packed with 1900 sayings from the English countryside. Interestingly, they have also been 'tested' and star rated as to their truth!
Following on from Sue's post about Magpies I thought it would be fun to add these sayings:
For anglers in spring it is
always unlucky to see single
magpies; but two may always be
regarded as a favourable omen.
And the reason for this is, that in cold
and stormy weathr one magpie
alone leaves the nest in search
of food, while the other one
remains sitting with the eggs or
young ones; but when two go out
together, it is only when the
weather is mild and warm, and
favourable for fishing.
Star rating: *
Magpies flying three or four
together and uttering harsh cries
predict windy weather.
Star rating: *
Given the particularly mild and sunny days we have enjoyed this week, the following saying is a bit worrying - especially as it is given a star rating of ****.
If there's spring in winter, and
winter in spring
The year won't be good for anything.
February is fast running away with us, but tomorrow, 24th February, is St Matthias' Day, apparently he is the patron saint of alcoholics.
Sayings for his day:
If it freezes on Saint Matthias' Day,
it will freeze for a month together.
Star rating: *
Saint Matthias breaks the ice; *
If he finds none, he will make it. **
Saint Matthie
Sends sap up into the trees.
The Hand to Mouth book is an old Women's Institute cookery book, originally published in 1933, my copy dates from 1944.
The Lotions and Potions book dates from the 1960's, another Women's Institute one. It is fascinating, full of very old recipes for creams, unguents, medicines and cures, many dating from centuries ago.
I decided I could no longer ignore the discarded aluminium cans, coffee cups, bottles, sweetie wrappers, chocolate wrappers, plastic bags, dog dropping bags (full), old lottery tickets, and general detritus, which was strewn along the lane.
I hitched up Toby, grabbed a rubbish bag, my litter picking stick, and set to work. I cleared both sides of approx 500m of lane and ended up with a large bin bag full of trash.
The vodka drinker seems to have stopped drinking though, or perhaps they have moved, for there wasn't a single alcohol bottle, whereas previously there would have been at least half a dozen, sometimes more.
A short time later, I went back up the lane to buy some eggs from one of our neighbours. On the way home I had to pick up another can which someone had discarded since I cleared the verges.
Hey ho!
I have never understood how someone can think so little of their surroundings to pitch their trash out the window instead of waiting till they get home or to somewhere there is a trash can to pitch it into. That spring in winter and winter in spring is really worrisome. Here in US we are anxiously waiting for the Mueller Report on the President and Russia's interference. Also very glad that Democrats in House are doing their investigating. This man should never have been elected - the worst possible con man.
ReplyDeleteNeither have I, Marcia. I have a feeling that early mornings may be when quite a lot of litter gets thrown out - especially those coffee cups and energy drink cans! I'll let you know.
DeleteHaven't come across that weather lore book with star ratings, very worrying about the spring in winter one with 4 stars. Hope it's wrong this year although the last few days have been almost too good to be true,
ReplyDeleteFarmers here have been hedge and verge cutting which has revealed all the rubbish. Very bad on the main roads but close to home on back roads is much better - thankfully
When the verge gets cut, so does the rubbish, then it looks a whole lot worse, that was a big part of what motivated me to clear it. It is another beautifully warm and sunny day, though someone has just told me that it is going to get cold again...
DeleteI love the look of those books, fascinating. I think a lot of the old lores were probably more accurate than our weather men nowadays. lol
ReplyDeleteAs for litter, it really annoys me, more from the fact that animals etc can get caught up or eat it.
Briony
x
The weather lore book must have been quite a labour of love, the author did a huge amount of research and recording, digging and delving back through records. It makes for a fascinating reference book - there are rhymes and sections on days of the week, animals, plants, trees, clouds...
Delete"Lotions And Potions" caught my eye first! :-)
ReplyDelete"Plucked from your bookshelves..." This means, to look at, yet again, I think.
Love all old sayings and etc. But it is worrisome, that the not good year one, is a 4 Star one! :-)
Oh well, just pay no attention to it!!!!
Good for you, for picking up garbage. Although it must make you "boil," with every item. Grrrrrrrr...
The Lotions and Potions is fascinating, Nanci. I am sure one or two recipes will eventually make it onto the blog, once the correct flowers come into bloom. Most of my books are non-fiction, my very own reference library - and in frequent use.
DeleteGetting angry wouldn't stop them throwing litter but it would stress me out, so I take a deep breath, pick up the rubbish and then take pleasure from seeing the lane become a clean and tidy place again. It works!
I looked up our saints to see all about St Matthias ...greek orthodox has a saint of the same name, in greek, but not the same I rather think. Name day is in November. Wonder who the saint of alcoholics is here.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe he'd just be the patron saint of drinkers here. Besides all the drinking there aren't too many I'd actually class as alcoholics.
Good on you for the gathering of rubbish. Must be satisfying to see a clean verge....even if they do keep on littering
St Matthias was a new one on me, but I thought I would give him a mention anyway. The lane was surprisingly clean and tidy this morning, long may it last. My husband wanted me to wear his Hi Vis Vest when I went litter picking, I declined, on the basis that I would then look as though I were having to work off a stretch of community service for some misdemeanour...on reflection though, that could have been quite fun. Maybe next time, then see if it generates any gossip!
DeleteWhat a shame after all your hard work to see another can! Loved the look of the lotions and potions book, bet it makes for an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteIt has recipes for cough medicines, eye lotions, thieves vinegar, lotions to soothe tired feet, or ease chilblains, plus cosmetics to give a pleasing ruddy complexion and the less than wonderful sounding Cosmetick of River Crabs, which I may give a miss.
DeleteI wonder if I've told you about the mother at the end of our half mile long road, who would walk up to meet her grade schooler at the bus, with her toddler by the hand. That little girl carried a bag, and they picked up trash as they went. "Shopping for trash," her mother explained. Today that toddler is a grown woman and works as an environmentalist.
ReplyDeleteSo, how good is Toby at sniffing out trash?
Toby used to be scared of the rubbish bag, the cars, his shadow - these days he just waits patiently by my side and even moves himself into the verge when a car comes along - so different from that half-starved, terrified, and mistreated waif that came home with me. He's no eco warrior, but he does his best.
DeleteOh how much I enjoy folklore, Elaine! Where would we be without the wisdom passed down through generations? I also love picking up the 10 cent books, especially the old ones! I'm not sure what a pence is worth, but sounds like a fabulous bargain! It's great of you to pick up after others laziness, which is so very irritating that someone feels so entitled to drop their waste anywhere they feel the need! Dang ole Litter Bugs!
ReplyDeleteSecond hand books to delight and to be dipped into and enjoyed time and time again! I have a particular fondness for books with margin notes and additions, books which have been used a lot and have proved their worth. Just as with the folklore books, old recipe books show a lot of regional differences. All fascinating, well it is to me!
DeleteOn my morning walk I carry a large bucket and a "picker-upperer" and fairly often the bucket is full in just a short walk. Yesterday in the park was an empty rum and coke carton and 12 empty cans. I wondered whether there was a party or just one imbiber.
ReplyDeleteI hope it was a party, otherwise someone may have had a really bad headache! Next time I head out with my 'picker-upperer' I shall think of you and know that I am in good company, Susan.
DeleteYour Lotions and potions caught my eye, I love looking through those sorts of books. Well done you for your rubbish clearing, so sad that you have to do it when its so easy for those people to take it home and let everyone enjoy the countryside. xcx
ReplyDeleteIn truth, I could pick litter up from many of the lanes around here, trouble is that when you are doing a three or four mile walk, it just isn't possible.
DeleteI think you would really enjoy that book, some of the recipes are many centuries old, the ingredients unobtainable these days, but nevertheless they do make for a fascinating read, Chrissie.
Whenever I encountered discarded rubbish I always wondered what the person who did the discarding was like. To my surprise, a friend told me that it wasn't a down and out who left rubbish for others to clear, it was a perfectly respectable LADY. I wonder what her house was like inside!
ReplyDeleteI have a suspicion that the coffee cups and energy drinks, crumpled pastry bags, etc are thrown by early morning drivers as they dash to work or, perhaps, delivery drivers snatching a quick lunch on the go, while they are on a quiet road and unlikely to be spotted by a policeman. Which probably means that it will turn out to be Squire P who lives along the road!!
DeleteMy friend was an Illegal Dumping Investigator and you would not believe the percent of the dumpers who were female. Want to guess? NONE... That's right, None were female...interesting no
DeleteInteresting!
DeleteIt is so disappointing when people leave litter, I don't know if they just don't think about what they are doing or if it is deliberate. I was once in town and a car came by, a back door opened and a bag of left overs from a well known takeaway was hurled out of the door, the car sped away! Your bread looks delicious and your books so interesting. We have a pair of magpies in the trees behind our garden hedge:)
ReplyDeleteHello Rosie, I imagine you could scarcely believe your eyes! The bread had a fabulous flavour and an excellent crust (my favourite bit) it went down well with everyone. I have to really limit my intake, but I enjoy baking bread more than anything else, would that it were calorie-free.
DeleteLots of joy for you with a pair of them. Long may it be so.
I have heard the saying one for sorrow two for joy ect ect bur never come afross the fisherman one. Good on you clearing rubbish, too many prople live along our road to bother
ReplyDeleteI walk that way every day, Bill, so I probably see more of it than most people. So far this week I have only had to pick up a crisp packet and a couple of cans, which is pretty good going.
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