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However
good our Bernaccas are, the television weather reports are not
always correct: because they are the result of variable factors;
because they cover a territory which is vaster than ever; and
because the Italian territory is very varied. A certain exposition
such as a valley or a plateau are reason enough to modify the
climate and the rainfall of a certain determined area.
The
Ionian strip, on which we live, is entirely exposed to the sea
and is pressed in vertically by nearby high grounds which culminate
in the Gremi and the Sant’Andrea.
In
the summertime the westerly winds prevail; but the Serre mountainous
chain only allows a cool breeze through, while its humidity bears
down on the Tyrrhenian coast. It never rains in Carne, but why
then does it rain more often in Squillace and Catanzaro Lido and
even Gioiosa? Simply because the gorge of Marcellinara and the
Torbido valley permit the affluence of those humid air currents
we are denied.
In
autumn and winter, humid easterly and southerly winds prevail,
and they are the ones which give us the floods which the Tyrrhenian
coasts are immune to. Therefore we are doubly disadvantaged, at
first we suffocate then we become mouldy. It is of little comfort
that we save on tanning products and … penicillin.
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Could
we now turn to safer and surer local forecasts?
Buy
yourselves a flock of sheep and lead them towards the Gremi or
the Pecoraro, toponymically more suitable. If the flock graze
haphazardly and spread apart from each other up there, good weather
is certain. However, if they tent to gather together nose to nose…
then you had better open your umbrella because you will be prepared.
In
any case stay away from the trees! If you can’t find a large
rock you will bravely be facing the “meteors” from God:
a cold sooner or later will pass but there are no antidotes against
lightening!
Do
you not have the money to buy nor the time to keep the flock of
sheep? No problem. Turn to gardening. Plant petunias, morning
glory, courgettes and other flowers with bell shaped corollas.
Having done this, set up watch. As soon as the different corollas
begin to close up, take the road home; to set the pace check how
fast the phenomenon in occurring. Do you not feel up to gardening,
are you afflicted with lumbago? Lets change tack. Get someone
to build you a pond and a hen house. Fill the pond with a few
ducks and fill the hen house with a rooster and a few hens, just
to keep it going. If the ducks begin to panic, honking and beating
the water with their wings and wake you up at an unusual time,
take it as a sure sign that the weather is changing for the worse.
Are you a peace lover who does not like fatigue? Feathered necks
are always at the mercy of your patience: Socrates resisted a
wife chosen for the same end… orange duck will solve the
problem of an unexpected guest; and a boiled rooster still with
its crest, has always represented the ritual for any happy occasion”.
The rooster theory holds too many problems for you? Then let us
pass on to the “callo” (corn). Buy yourself a pair of
shoes of any kind, mind that they are one size smaller than your
usual size: the ladies are often in the habit of doing this so
as to show off dainty little feet. If the inevitable corns have
been killing you all day, be assured that the weather will change.
Do you not like that option either? Then we shall completely skip
the rheumatism method which one acquires by living for some time
in humid areas… So slip on your usual shoes and take the
first pathway out of the village.
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Stop
at the first hedge you find and explore it minutely until you
find the omnipresent spider’s web. If the spider is briskly
working on his web, stay calm and tranquil: walking is good for
you and it replaces the pre-meal drinks. If you find the spider
inactive and curled in, quicken your step and find somewhere dry
to stay.
Do
you not like walking? Go to the main square in the village and
turn up your nose. If the swallows are streaking about low in
the sky, nearly grazing the ground every now and then, make your
way back home and you will remain dry. Is it not swallow season?
Then look to the chimneys, if the smoke takes a long time to rise
up into the air or if it tends to become denser or even if it
drifts downwards, hurry up and get inside anyway. Are you against
ever leaving your house or unable to move from it? Shuffle over
to the balcony and look at the sky.
If
the sunset is pale yellow and the moon has a large halo it is
certain that the weather is changing. Can you not see very well?
Open the window, at any time of the day, and stretch out your
hand. If those who live above you are well to do people but your
hand is wet anyway when you pull it back in, then it is an unmistakable
sign that it is raining!…
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The
naturalist's corner: what the weather will be like
by Vincenzo Franco
Corriere
di Caulonia - August 1988
Translated
by A. C. Mazza
Top
Copyright © 2000 Caulonia 2000 per continuare a cambiare
- All rights reserved
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