It’s Raining Cats and Dogs! Ever wonder how that saying got started? Well, wonder no more. Here’s one account. Numerous “frog and fish showers” have been reported in Europe since ancient times. The stories include ludicrous notions that creatures fall from whirlwinds or are vomited by birds. No clear conclusion can be drawn, but what does seem clear is that cats and dogs in the expression raining cats and dogs refer not to mammals but to fish - specifically the catfish and the dogfish that especially heavy rain may bring down. Proof of the catfish link was found in a Singapore downpour when fifty acres of land were found “covered with a local species of catfish.” For the dogfish, there is evidence in an old sailors’ belief that if dogfish were sighted on a morning run, a torrent would soon come and the clouds of the storm would contain dogfish. So grab an umbrella when it starts to rain and have a very wonderful April! ~The Cat’s Pajamas
The Taxman Cometh It’s time again for the yearly scramble to organize receipts, tally deductions and face the taxman. And to make an appointment with AARP Tax-Aide, a free tax service for middle- and low-income individuals, with special priority given to those who are 60 and over. The service is available to both AARP members and nonmembers. The Tax-Aide program offers free one-on-one counseling, as well as assistance on the telephone and Internet to help individuals prepare basic tax forms, including the 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and other standard schedules. To find your nearest Tax-Aide location, call toll-free 1-888-227-7669 or visit www.aarp.org/taxaide.
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For Ramblewood Village
All About April ACTS & TRI VI A FUN F
APRIL FOOL’S DAY seems to have begun in France in 1564. April 1st used to be New Year’s day, but the New Year was changed to January 1st that year. People who insisted on celebrating the “old” New Year became known as April fools and it was common to play jokes and tricks on them.
cene April 2009
Sorry there is no actual community news but my computer crashed. I HATE COMPUTERS!
EASTER is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The DIAMOND, birthstone of April, is the hardest natural substance on Earth. Diamonds can only be polished with another diamond.
It’s going to rain if....
APRIL comes from the Latin word ?Cats sneeze or wash behind their ears. aperio, “to open (bud),” because plants ?Spiders abandon their webs. begin to grow in this month. ?Ants close off the mouth of their nest. ?Horses stretch out their necks. Legend holds that an EGG laid on ?Peacocks cry out at night. Good Friday will never spoil ?Mosquitos bite more frequently. and that if you don’t cook it, ?Seagulls make more noise than usual. the yolk will become a ?Deer and elk come down from the hills. diamond in a century. ~Old Farmer’s Almanac