Faith, Folklore, and Friends

google image We have abundant frogs in Alabama. On summer evenings, I love sitting on the deck, listening to them sing.  The tree frogs have a constant chorus, with other frogs and toads calling out occasionally, probably seeking a sweetheart.   Ribbit, ribbit….or maybe they are saying “Wade in deep, Wade in deep.”  Above is an image of one of the gigs my brother used in search of delectable frog legs. It has survived more than half a century; the long pole attached to it did not. My brother and his friends were champion frog giggers. They would go every night if the weather allowed, and usually came home somewhere between nine and midnight with a sack full. They would butcher the frogs, taking only the legs.  Mama would fry the legs up for them, although it was past her bedtime and she had served a normal supper and cleaned up after it hours ago.  My brother and his friends would devour the frog legs as quickly as she could get them from the frying pan to the ...

Sooooo, I'm just wondering how this got started.  My parents, even without the Weather Channel, always acknowledged it, and  hated the days the sun was out to make the groundhog's shadow. For most of the country, how hard is to to imagine winter lasting through the middle of March?  Even here in North Alabama, March sometimes brings snow and cold winds and gray, miserable days. Groundhog's Day is not a national holiday, but it appears on every calendar I checked.  It is cloudy here now, with predictions of big storms later today. Try and make it a good day, in spite of groundhogs and pending storms.

Can wind direction forecast the weather for the New Year?  According to the Old  Farmer's Almanac, it can. If New Year’s Eve the wind blows south It betokens warmth and growth. If west, much milk and fish in the sea. If north, cold and storms there will be. If east, the trees will bear much fruit. If north east, then flee it, man and brute.

If you have the great opportunity of walking in the woods today, look closely.  I'll bet you can find some blood root.  Look for stark white petals poking up through brown leaves. bloodroot (ˈblʌdˌruːt)  ---noun    Also called: red puccoon; a North American papaveraceous plant, Sanguinaria canadensis, having a single whitish flower and a fleshy red root that yields a red dye.  ~ World English Dictionary The Ponca Indians of South Dakota and Nebraska used bloodroot as a love charm, rubbing the juice on the palm of a young bachelor. The Micmac Indians (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick) used the same plant both as an aphrodisiac and as an abortifacient. ~Daniel E. Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany Many wildflowers which we have transplanted to our gardens are full of magic and charm, while others are full of mystery.  In childhood I absolutely abhorred Bloodroot; it seemed to me a fearsome thing.  I rememb...