Old Cow Weather

Paula descends from the bus in Galway putting on her coat amid rain and wind, and an older woman, under 5 ft. tall, tiny face, long black wool coat, pillbox hat and shopping bag, stops, taps Paula on the arm, and says sympathetically, “This is what we call old cow weather.” She smiles and walks on. Meaning what?

Irish legends say that the old brindle cow laughed and bragged that even the harsh storms of March couldn’t kill her. Thereupon, March borrowed some days from the beginning of April and extended his fury. So old cow weather is those days in April that are more like March.