For generations the farmers have been recording the weather, and noting useful observations in the 'Bauern Kalendar' in charming rhymes (here, badly translated), such as; 'If October is clear, Winter is near', 'Snow in the 10th month, mild till the 4th', 'Sun on St Martin's, in for a cold one', 'Blustery on St Matthias' day, Winter till Easter' and so on and so on and so on! In the same vein as St Swithuns or Groundhog but SO much more complicated, taking into account when the lark sings, how thick the ice is, when the leaves fall and what the cows are up to. It is absolutely reliable, since there are enough of these 'rules' to ensure that whatever the weather, it will have been correctly predicted! I don't mean to be cynical - it's just that the Bauern Kalendar predicts not much snow this year and we really want it to be wrong.
