I have storms on my mind. We all do this time of year.

Hence, here I go again with this hurricane pic. There\’s a storm out there in the Gulf of Mexico now; and of course that makes me think more than usual about weather.

I can easily look up forecasts online; and that\’s spoiled me. But suppose I didn\’t have that luxury? How did people know what the weather might do before modern forecasts; and before there was even The Old Farmer\’s Almanac?

They observed. They learned from experience. Over time they came to know what to expect from what they saw; and they passed this wisdom down to successive generations.

They weren\’t always right, I\’m sure. Even knowing what to expect might not always have done much good. For example, centuries ago inhabitants of small islands would have come to know when a hurricane was approaching; but they had no way to go to a safer place.

We\’re lucky to not have to rely solely on watching clouds and smoke spirals, aren\’t we? Even so, I\’ve got storms on my mind.