Even though fall is really just now getting underway, there are already signs of the coming winter. Two weeks ago I took Thistle to the woods and had to practically dodge falling acorns. I stood up the trail from a massive oak and listened to so many pelting through the leaves I couldn’t even count them.
You know what that means.
A hard winter!
I suppose it makes sense that nature would provide a wealth of food ahead of a long, cold winter. Of course, there are quite a few other signs you can be on the lookout for if you want to know what sort of winter is in the offing.
- Woolly worms – Each of the worm’s segments is meant to represent a week of winter–black is cold and brown is mild. I have yet to see one of the critters, though, so no prediction yet.
- Wasps Nests – The higher the nests, the worse the winter. If you see hives low to the ground, snow should be light. If they’re high in the eaves and in the trees–look out!
- August Fog – Every foggy morning in August equals a winter snow. Did you pay attention?
- Spiders – If it’s going to be a rough winter, they’ll spin larger webs and move into your house in abundance.
- Pigs – Keep an eye out for pigs gathering sticks–it generally indicates a dramatic change in the weather AND it’s pretty funny to see.
I so enjoy your blogs, pigs carrying sticks you say?? ha ha, never heard that one, BUT I have been under acorn attack for 3 weeks now, I have never seen so many and the squirrels fussing among themselves over which tree is theirs. I thank you for always cheering me up when I read your blogs, have a blessed day!
Yes, pigs carrying sticks is my favorite! Sunday afternoon there was a squirrel feasting on the abundant hazelnuts outside the bedroom window. Thistle was mesmerized for quite a while!
I’d never head the one about pigs and sticks, but as for woolly worms, Olivia has one in her “cage” and takes it out frequently to play with. She loves seeing it roll up into a ball and then puts it in the middle of a pillow and waits for it to uncurl and take off so she can figure out which end is front and which end is back. She is guessing what it would eat and putting a variety of things in the cage to feed it. It will be a sad day when she finds it dead. As to coloring, short segments either end of black and the wide middle is brown. I tried to remember to mark the August fogs on the calendar, but am sure I missed a few.
I always forget in August! How many DID you count?