This past Sunday, the winds of November began just after dawn. Subtle at first, by noon leaves were streaming towards the turf covering any freshly laid pine straw with a vengeance. It only picked up from there. Skies were crystal clear, and temperatures began to plummet. By dusk, the thermometer had plunged more than 40 degrees from the same time 24 hours earlier. My bones were chilled as I climbed down from my first bow hunt of the season. I was excited to say the least. Not because of my opportunity in the woods, but finally, it began to feel like winter.
I began to wonder what kind of winter we would incur for the remainder of the season. Would it be a sultry, balmy Christmas with patios and garages sweating profusely as they did in August? Will we be frozen at Thanksgiving with everyone rushing from the warm cars to the kitchens of families and friends? Though only time will tell, I thought it would be fun to visit some folklore that delves into winter weather forecasting. We won’t know for sure until the end, but for now let’s see what old wives’ tales and the Farmer’s Almanac predicts for what we are about to endure.
Did you know that the study of weather proverbs is known as paremiology? Make a note of some of the “clues” for this winter and reflect this spring to see if they got it right. Most of these have no basis in scientific fact, while others have been found to be extremely accurate. To quote Ben Franklin, he once said, “Some of us are weather-wise, and some are otherwise” and our fascination with weather continues to this day. Though weather folklore is far from infallible it is entertaining.
Through my country-side drives, acorns are constantly falling onto the roof of my pickup. They sound like boulders, making one jump as they pound the entire vehicle. One sign of a cold winter is a heavy mast crop including acorns, walnuts, and hickory nuts. Though I haven’t inspected the pecans yet, the other nut bearing trees are loaded. I wonder if this predictor will be right?
There are a few rhymes also predicting what kind of winter we will have. Regarding leaves, those which fall early indicate a winter that is mild. When leaves fall late, winter will be wild. “Flowers bloomin’ in late autumn, a sure sign of a bad winter comin.” Let’s continue with the predictors and rhymes.
Squirrels with very bushy tails in the fall cue a cold winter. If squirrels stash their nuts high in the trees, the snow will be deep. “When squirrels early start to hoard, winter will pierce us like a sword.” Beavers were important forecasters for Native Americans. The thickness of their fur, the amount of body fat, where they hide their food caches, and how they build their winter dens were all used to predict winter weather. Indigenous people believed that the larger and stronger the beaver lodge, the harsher the winter to come. “When you see a beaver carrying sticks in its mouth, it’ll be a hard winter, you better go south.”
“They” also say the thicker and tougher apple skins are, the tougher the winter we will have. Corn husks which are more numerous, thicker, and tighter than usual indicate a harsh winter. Similarly to the apples, when onion skins are thicker than normal, a severe winter is forecast. When wild turkeys perch in trees and refuse to come down, snow is imminent. If their feathers are unusually thick, count on a hard winter. “If the rooster molts before the hen, we’ll have winter thick and thin, if the hen molts before the cock, we’ll have winter hard as a rock.”
Insects can also be a weather predictor. The wooly bear caterpillar has long been a favorite to predict the winter to come. The wider the brown or orange band in the middle of the caterpillar, the milder the winter will be. If bees build their nests in a protected spot, expect a hard winter. Likewise, as high as the hornets build their nests, so will the snow be in winter. “If ant hills are high in July, winter will be snowy.” Though not insects, “Mushrooms galore, much snow in store. No mushrooms at all, then no snow will fall.”
One month affects another, or at least they say. “If a cold August follows a hot July, it foretells a winter hard and dry.” “For every fog in August, there will be a snowfall in winter.” “If the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and long.” “A warm October, a cold February.” “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens.” “Thunder in fall brings on a cold winter.” “If there is thunder in winter, it will snow 7 days later.” And so on and so on!
Even smoke has its role as a weather forecaster. This old wives’ tale in rhyme form asserts that when smoke from a fire creeps along the ground rather than rising into the sky, cold weather is about to set in. “When smoke descends, good weather ends.” At least you’ll be warm by the fire!
I have heard of these winter predictor tales and the folklore that goes with them for many years of my life. However, a couple weeks ago I was enlightened to another winter predictor that I have never heard of. Amy Houston has been my barber since I moved to Madison County over 15 years ago. During my most recent visit of getting my ears lowered, the subject of fall and winter came up and how cold it would be or not be. She asked me if I had ever heard of persimmon seeds predicting what the winter would be like. I had never heard this, and to say I was intrigued was an understatement. Amy went on to explain that you could split the seed of a ripe persimmon and based on the shape within, one could predict the winter. If you see a spoon shape, there will be a lot of heavy, wet snow. If the center of the seed revealed a fork shape, you can expect light, powdery snow and a milder winter. If you found a knife shape in the seed, be prepared for a winter that will “cut” you to the bone with cold, icy, windy weather. As I said, I thought I had heard it all. Needless to say, I was eager to check this out.
It just so happens we have two persimmon trees in our back yard. I searched in vain on the ground for fallen fruit to dissect and inspect, but to no avail. The deer pick them up as quickly as they fall. Not to worry though, as there were still plenty of ripe persimmons hanging from the limbs above. With a little effort, I was able to knock a few to the ground and gather them before the deer beat me to them. Stacey and I attempted to slice the seeds with a sharp knife and after several futile efforts without slicing our thumbs off, we succeeded. We were like kids in a candy store in anticipation of what we would see. Alas, we noticed knife shaped structures within the seeds. If the folklore is correct, we can expect a brutal winter with lots of ice and wind. Only time will tell now.
I still can’t believe I had never heard of this predictor. I can’t wait until my next haircut to tell Amy what I found inside those persimmon seeds. Have y’all heard of this too? There are still a few persimmons available to slice and inspect. I invite you to inspect a few seeds and see if you find what we found. One word of caution though, these seeds are hard, and difficult to cut through. Don’t slice your finger trying to figure out what our winter will be like. We’ll know soon enough. Thank you for the trivia, Amy.
Until next time enjoy our woods and waters and remember, let’s leave it better than we found it.
jeff.north@northag.net.
