Signs of the Seasons

With fall approaching, I can not wait for the trees to show their beauty. I love the many colors of foliage that spring forth before our eyes, like a beautiful painted canvas. Remembering years past, I recall how different each year’s showing of color has been. I wonder if this season of color will be “full speed ahead” or “green to brown”. Whichever, trees have a way of telling us to slow down and relax, but before we do, have one last blast,.. like their last burst of color before going dormant for the winter. Yes, let the fall fun begin!

And what about winter? What kind of winter will it be? People actually predicted weather from signs in nature in times past? I remember my father and grandfathers talking about the signs. So… what are the signs?

The woolly bear caterpillar is red with black bands on each end. The wider the black bands, the more severe the coming winter. Some people break it down further, saying that the band at the head end predicts the first part of winter and the tail-end band, predicts the end of winter. Have you seen wooly worms? I can only wonder what their color is, for I have not seen even one. Every fog in August means a snowy day in winter, or that’s the saying. And, 3 bad fogs in June or July means an early snow. So how many fogs were there in June, July and August? Since fogs are usually seen early in the morning, I guess I do not know the answer to the question of fogs. I sleep late, so I’m unaware of the number of fogs in either month.

How about the berries and acorns? Are they abundant? We know it will be a hard winter if animals coats are thicker than usual. I just gave my dog a haircut and I can’t catch the squirrels and rabbits to check them out, so I really can not answer this question either. But, there are more signs. It will be a hard winter if millers (moths) try to get in the window. I have no moths scrambling to come indoors… mild winter? Have you seen ant hills? If ant hills are high in July, winter will be snowy. I really did not see any ant hills in July …mild winter or just too hot to be outside (for me and the ants)?

Now there’s the old onion skin…”Onion skin’s mighty thin, Mild winter is coming in; Onion skin very tough, Coming winter will be rough.” The problem with this is, I have no garden to check out the onions. Maybe you, gardeners, will check out this sign for me. And, if smoke from the chimney settles on the ground, it’ll be a hard winter, if it’s cloudy and smoke rises it might snow. Great signs, but it’s still too warm for fires….. I give up!

I’ll just wait for the full moon in October, and take my hand and place it towards the moon, letting the moon cradle in the area between the thumb and the pointer finger, seeing how far the ring will rise on my hand. Then I will know how long it will be before the first snow fall… or not! It’s a great memory, but I’ll leave it to the experts! How about you, can you predict the winter from the memories of signs your father or grandfather taught you?