Never confuse a modern weathervane that the weather forecaster uses, with the traditional weathervanes. Their ornamental value was as high as the ability to point in which direction the wind was blowing. Especially in the American countryside, people’s reliance on the weathervane has been dependent and as important to them as the well for drinking water. At the end of each day and the onset of the next one each morning, people used to look to the sky and checked what direction their weathervane was pointing in. That told them in which direction the dark clouds on the horizon may be headed and thereby how to plan their day. With the horizon of the New World, weathervanes were displayed proudly in farms and in towns, as our ancestors built. With the passing of time, the American weathervanes changed from the old English styles to match the environment and character of the New World. In the Northeast, figures such as seagulls, ships and fish, were the most popular ones. As people moved westward and farming and ranching developed, the weathervanes would depict hens, horses, pigs and other farm animals, arrows and Indian figureheads. If you live in a house, you need a weathervane.
Every American home needs a weathervane
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