No matter your stance on spirituality and higher powers, I think we can all agree agriculturalists are a rather superstitious bunch. Maybe not consciously, but how often have you thrown the term "Murphy's Law" around without even thinking about it?
I plucked the following handful of farming superstitions from my memory bank:
- Mares' tails in the sky are a sign of rain on the horizon
- One echidna on the road indicates one inch of rain incoming, two echidnas equals two inches of rain, etc.
- "Red in the morning- shepherd's warning, red at night- shepherd's delight" hinting a red sunrise signalled wet weather while a red sunset meant clear skies ahead
You might be wondering where I'm heading with this.
As I sit in Toowoomba patiently (not) awaiting our first baby's arrival, the weather is as it has been across much of Queensland lately, rather miserable.
The ground is sodden, the skies are grey and the forecast is for more of the same in coming months. And let me tell you, the mood is sour. The locals are whinging. They are in their own words, "over it."
My gut instinct when I hear those words is to run for the hills from anyone who would dare jinx us back into drought.
There is a distinctly common theme running among any farming fantasy I can recount - weather, or more pointedly, rain.
I'm not immune to the monotony of sunless days, mould and clothes that never feel nice and crisp, but I would never wish the rain away. Someone might be listening!
The drought is still too close for comfort. The memories are too raw, the suffering that spread across our industry left scars.
Even if I have quietly thought to myself "gee, some sunshine would be nice," I've always followed up with "but the rain is glorious, we're so lucky" to appease the powers that be.
It seems a little crazy, but I'll do just about anything to prolong the next dry spell as long as I possibly can.
We humans tend to forgive and forget quickly, sometimes in our best interest.
However, in the case of weather extremes I think we would do well to remember them all and appreciate them for what they were.
The lessons they brought, the changes they prompted and maybe, which farming holy grail we'll pin our money on for next time!
- Lucy Moore, writer/grazier
MORE READING:
