Literal translation
when it rains on the first of May, there are hardly any quinces
Meaning
rain on the first of May means few quinces
Explanation
This weather saying links rain on the first day of May to a poor quince harvest. Plòu (it rains) and proumié de mai (the first of May) set the condition, at a time when quince trees are in full bloom ; heavy rain on that date damages the blossoms and hinders pollination, hence the predicted scarcity of coudoun (quince) later in the season. The word gai, which ordinarily means cheerful, merry, or jay (the bird), is used here, as found in certain Provençal weather sayings, in the adverbial sense of hardly, scarcely : n'i a gai then reads there are few of them, a shift from its primary meaning. The saying belongs to farming knowledge passed down through generations, an empirical observation linking a precise calendar sign to a consequence for the fruit harvest. It is quoted right when May rain falls, as a resigned forecast for the coming autumn, in the same spirit as the many Provençal sayings devoted to the saints of May and their feared rains.