Rebecca, Thank you for having me here today!
Do you watch TV to learn about the weather? I do part of the time and usually the weather forecasters are wrong, but if I go by the clouds or lack thereof hanging on the Cascade Mountain range I can pretty much tell what kind of weather we'll have. So the first thing I do in the morning is look out the windows pointing West and see what's coming at us from the coast.
The Nez Perce Indians of NE Oregon, SE Washington, and Central Idaho taught their children at a young age how to observe the signs of nature. Animals, insects, birds, the moon and the sunset all helped them determine or predict the weather.
They believed to kill spiders would cause rain. If clouds in a sunset appeared red it would storm the next day. If the clouds were orange it would be a nice day. If the moon appeared upside down or face up it meant good weather. If the moon faced down there would be rainy weather.
These are all things I learned while researching the Nez Perce Indians for the second book in my spirit trilogy. Spirit of the Lake is set at the time the Whiteman started encroaching on the Wallowa Nez Perce. The first book dealt with the love the Nez Perce felt for this beloved country and this book is about how the Whiteman's deceit and lies began to pound a wedge between the peaceful bands.
Blurb: Two generations after his brother became mortal, Wewukiye, the lake spirit, prevents a Nimiipuu maiden from drowning and becomes caught up in her sorrow and her heart. Her tribe ignores Dove's shameful accusations—a White man took her body, leaving her pregnant, and he plans to take their land.Wewukiye vows to care for her until she gives birth, to help her prove the White man is deceitful and restore her place in her tribe. As they travel on their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities yet unknown in her people, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But can love between a mortal and a spirit grow without consequences?
*******This post is part of Paty's blog tour. Leave a comment on as many of her guest blogs as you can and the person who travels with her the most will receive an autographed copy of Spirit of the Lake, a sweatshirt, and cowboy chocolate. To find all the places she's visiting go to her blog. The contest runs from May 18th – May 29th covering thirteen blogs. She'll notify the winner on May 30th. In the event of a tie she will draw a name.
To read more about the spirit trilogy or her other books visit her website.
Buy Link: The Wild Rose Press
Be sure to leave a comment and follow the blog tour to win!
About Paty: Growing up in the Northeast corner of Oregon, riding horses and reading were my favorite pastimes. Many hours were spent roaming the Wallowa Mountains on my horse Junebug and making up stories in my head.
My love of books and positive feedback from instructors gave me the incentive to try my hand at writing. I dabbled with Children's books and was told I wrote to adult. Then tried my hand at murder mysteries when a personal experience had me facing anger issues.
After reading LaVyrle Spencer's "Hummingbird" I knew I had to write historical romance. While honing my writing skills my husband and I raised four children. We are now empty nesters and loving it! Instead of grumbling kids, we now cater to three dogs, two horses, and thirty mother cows and currently ranch 350 acres.
Along with writing I also teach writing workshops online, at writers meetings and at writing conferences.
Buy Link: The Wild Rose Press
Be sure to leave a comment and follow the blog tour to win!
About Paty: Growing up in the Northeast corner of Oregon, riding horses and reading were my favorite pastimes. Many hours were spent roaming the Wallowa Mountains on my horse Junebug and making up stories in my head.
My love of books and positive feedback from instructors gave me the incentive to try my hand at writing. I dabbled with Children's books and was told I wrote to adult. Then tried my hand at murder mysteries when a personal experience had me facing anger issues.
After reading LaVyrle Spencer's "Hummingbird" I knew I had to write historical romance. While honing my writing skills my husband and I raised four children. We are now empty nesters and loving it! Instead of grumbling kids, we now cater to three dogs, two horses, and thirty mother cows and currently ranch 350 acres.
Along with writing I also teach writing workshops online, at writers meetings and at writing conferences.
Thanks for being here today, Paty! Have fun on your tour!
I loved the part about if you kill spiders it will rain. Around here the rain comes, the spiders are flushed out & then they are killed. The lore & culture is fascinating.
ReplyDeletemarypres@gmail.com
Hi Marybelle,
ReplyDeleteI agree it is fascinating to learn what other cultures think. There are many animals who do in a way predict the weather.
Hi again, Paty! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe all these different facts you're sharing with us, I'm loving this tour - you should be really proud!
You have so many facts to share--awesome!
ReplyDeleteRachel and D'Ann, I have pages of note, computer printouts, and then the shelf of books on the subject of the Nez Perce...I'm glad my followers are enjoying the tidbits of info.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this post, I was aware of some of what you posted, about the spiders and the cloud colors. As a kid growing up on the farm, we would always watch the cattle, they would often let us know of a storm coming.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post. I wonder if the saying about killing spiders would cause it to rain is a belief in other cultures too. My mother has always told me that ever since I was a child about how it would rain if you kill a spider. My mother also used to say some similar things about the moon too.
ReplyDeleteJean, I agree. I think animals domestic and wild know the weather better than our satellites.
ReplyDeleteBecky, It could very well be. My mom used to have a saying, "Red sky at night sailors delight, red sky in morn sailor be warned."
thanks for coming by today, Paty! Good luck on the blog tour.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, Thanks for having me today. There may be few more who comment as I visit other blogs and they catch up.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with the same saying, Paty."Red sky at night sailors delight..."
ReplyDeleteAnd when I want to know what kind of winter they're calling for in my neck of the woods, I don't pay attention to the weatherman, I pay attention to what the Farmer's Almanac says. It seems that most of the time the old ways work better than the new.
Sarah, That's interesting we heard the same saying. I agree the Farmer's Almanac is better than all the electronic gadgets.
ReplyDeleteThe Nez Perce sunset weather forcast reminds me of the Euro-American saying:
ReplyDeleteRed sky at morning, sailor's take warning.
Red sky at night, Sailor's delight.
although the two cultures don't quite agree on what the cloud colors mean! LOL
Maybe that
s because of the differences in weather patterns between the West Coast and the sailor's homeland?
My husband and I grew up attuned to nature and what it was telling us. In my case, (and probably my husbands), it was a matter of spending much time outside and observing. There were books on history and science that helped too. You become connected to where you live and can feel the changes and know what to look for. I used to be able to tell time pretty accurately, within 15 minutes or so, during the day. My husband studied navigation and could do well at night too. We could judge how bad a winter to expect and when the seasons would start. We taught our children and they are able to use much of of it to varying degrees.
ReplyDeleteWe have moved around the country and have had to adjust to the different signs nature gives us in different areas. We live in the South now and have lost a little of that connection with nature. The heat and the humidity keep us in with the air conditioning.
For the early cultures, being in touch with nature and what she will send your way was a matter of life and death. It is worth noting that in the tsunami that hit the South Pacific a few years ago, the primitive fishing villagers lost no one on land. They watched the animals, watched the ocean and knew they had to move to higher ground for safety, even without official notification of the impending disaster. Those educated people with warnings and forcast, still went down to the shore, waded out, and in some cases stood there and watched the wave come in.
Pat, That's great you and your family are attuned to to nature. My husband who has lived in this area all his life is more accurate with weather than the weather men around here.
ReplyDeleteI agree if many generations have live din an area they know that area and weather better than anyone else.
I have to say nature is a very unpredictable thing I believe that its its way of speaking out on the way things are wrong I love learning about other cultures as well ur books rock!
ReplyDeleteSinn, Thanks for joining the tour.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paty for sharing your knowledge of the Nez Perce
ReplyDeleteWalk in harmony,
Melinda