Island Tips
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"From my irish Ireland neighbors I regularly encounter tips on how to plan my day, or week, or season."

Commentator Chuck Kruger.

"From a fisherman I learned that if the ropes leading to each lobster pot that run off the main rope are twisted; 'lookout heavy weather is on the way'.

A housewife tells me that if the vapor trails stay visible across the sky long after the jets themselves have disappeared, 'rain and bad weather are imminent'.

From a farmer, that when there is a red scab behind the setting sun a storm will hit the next day.

From a retired seaman in his mid-eighties; that if the island lake level is high in the spring; 'then summer will be fine'.

From a birdwatcher, that when a commorant is spotted swimming in the north harbor, the main working harbor; 'beware'.

And from everyone local I hear a saying that doesn't appear in any of my half-dozen dog-eared collections of irish proverbs; 'Wind and rain in May, Keep the barn in hay'.

So, when you live on a small little island of only 1578 acres above the high tide line and it's considered not just an offshore island but an Altlantic Isle, then you're always concerned about the weather. It affects everything you do, but especially, whether you can go fishing or leave the island for the mainland to make that long-awaited doctors appointment or that annual visit to the cinema. Perhaps the most qualifying line around Cape Clear comes right after boat times are quoted; 'Today's ferry departs at 9, weather permitting'.

Chuck Kruger, poet and storyteller is from Cape Clear Island, Ireland.