Natural Signs of a Rough Winter

[Granny]

The following are some Natural Signs of a Rough Winter collected over the years. Check them out and report if you have witnessed any of these signs or have additional weather wisdom to add to the list.

 

 

* Very thick onion skins or corn husks

 

* Woodpeckers sharing a tree

 

* Early arrival of crickets on the hearth

 

* Spiders spinning larger than usual webs

 

* Lots of acorns

 

* A small rust/orange band on a wooly worm caterpillar

 

* Trees are laden with green leaves late in the fall.

 

* Hickory nuts having heavy shells.

 

* Tree bark is heaviest on the north side of the tree.

 

* Crickets are in the chimney.

 

* Hoot owls call late into the fall.

 

* Raccoons have thick tails and bright bands

 

* Squirrels gathering nuts early in the year

 

* Pigs gathering sticks

 

* Frequent halos/rings around the sun or moon

 

• Heavy and numerous fogs in August

 

[Snowmom]

 

this list with us.

 

I was wondering about the band on the wooly worm. I saw one the other day and the rust band was about the size of the black bands on either end. So, I was wondering about it.

 

I'm not sure about some of the other things though. I mean, I don't know if those are happening around here, will have to keep my eyes open for them.

 

 

[Campy]

Yep.

 

These are the ones I have already seen (Coastal Connecticut)

 

 

Early arrival of crickets on the hearth

 

LOTS of acorns AND about twice the usual size

 

A small rust/orange band on a wooly worm caterpillar

 

Trees are laden with green leaves late in the fall.

(When they decide to come down, they are either ALL going to be down in about 10 - 14 days, or 75%+ will not come down until spring. Either way I have my work cut out for me getting them off the lawn and garden [the majority of them are oak] ).

 

Crickets are in the chimney.

 

Raccoons have thick tails and bright bands

 

Squirrels gathering nuts early in the year

 

The field mice have started their annual "invasion". (I usually don't put the bags of mothballs out until the middle - end of October. Same with the "attic crawl". Looks like I need to get up in the attic and get the mothballs and moth cakes scattered as well as repair/replace one of the clotheslines I have rigged for the mothball/mothcake distribution. I have several clothslines run from the attic access to the far end of the house. I put the mothballs in zip lock bags or cheesecloth bags, clip them to the line and run them down to the other end of the house - beats crawling through itchy insulation.)

 

FWIW - Mice, squirrels and other critters and "creapy crawlies" do not like the smell of mothballs/mothcakes and evacuate the area in about 10 - 14 days. I take zip lock sandwich bags, punch a bunch of holes in them with a hole punch and put a handful of mothballs in each bag then seal the bag. The bags keep things neat and minimize/eliminate the possibility of a child or pet eating a mothball. DO NOT DO THIS IN AREAS YOU GO IN A LOT. The fumes WILL GET TO YOU in a very short time.

 

 

[CeeGee]

Lots of berries on the pyracantha here.

[westbrook]

ants are foraging everywhere!

 

My leaves started turning a yellow green in the latter part of July.

 

September and it is very cold (remember I live in Southern California where it is always warm(

 

My bucks are already doing what I have them for and smell as bucky now as they do in November!

[Stephanie]

Here's a link with a similar list granny, this is very interesting, I'm going to keep my eyes open.

 

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/ca..._a_rough_winter

[Crazy4Canning]

Thanks for the online Farmer's Almanac. I usually just read mine, but this is really cool!

 

I second the squirrels. Those nasty rodents have been snatching tomatoes, causing havoc and generally being a nusiance.

[sassenach]

The leaves have begun turning not just to the yellowing but to the other colors. I can see the ridges changing among the hardwood areas mixed in the evergreens, woodlots, windblocking rows of trees on the exterior of fields, in a canyon I ride through and all around, frosty nights have arrived and day time temps are getting cool fast.

I noticed the number of crickets getting close to the bldg and gettin in the doors there.....

Alot of bugs fell away with a couple frosty nights , skeeters and black flies and gnats are all diminishing ( I am soooo happy).

After my coffee I will get cleaned up and go for a nice walk. Come back and cut up some branches outside from some downed trees and get enough for twig furniture! And get really a good start to my day. Pleasantly sunny and fresh outside!

 

 

[cootie]

How interesting! I will have to keep watch for these signs. Thans for posting this Granny.

[zzelle]

thanks for all the wonderful info

[dogmom4]

Our leaves started turning a couple of weeks ago and it's been very cool here in the mornings and evenings the past 2 weeks. This is very early in the season for us...we are usually still wearing shorts until Halloween.

[midwest prepper]

We have lived in this house for 4 years now and have never had crickets in the house but we have been catching some almost every night for the last two weeks.

[MichR]

I saw a few wooly worm catepillars and their orange bands were smaller than I can ever remember seeing. We have had two nights of hard frost so far last week and the trees are all turning beautiful reds, yellows and oranges.

 

The crickets are huge!! They are trying to join us in the house but our cat sees them as "harmful invaders" and kills them all

 

I'll have to keep my eyes open for the other signs - I keep telling hubby "we need more wood - must have more wood!!!". {laugh}

 

Michelle

[Brenda]

We have some huge crickets and lots of small ones to trying to get into the apt.. We have also had more grasshoppers this year than I can remember in a long time. The trees are really heavy with thick green foliage too.I have seen a lot of huge spider webs too and the squirrels have been busy, the moon has been having a lot of halo's too!

 

Thanks for sharing the Farmers Almanac site. I know I have it bookmarked somewhere but my files are in desperate need of a good housekeeping. It looks like we are in the area for the "frigid, wet, wild and snowy" weather. YUCK!!!! Time to re-enforce my stock-up supplies a little more. I also need to get the blankets washed up soon and ready to use. I'm glad I have finished most all of the fall cleaning already so I can do a few extra things now!

 

 

 

 

[sassenach]

My cat gives me a hard time but with cooler days, he suddenly refuses to go outside. I put him out earlier but he is back already. Like a two yr old little guy, he is giving me a hard time, lol. He makes me laugh, but at least he left me alone to sort through old mail today! ( One big chore really,,, but that part of it is done. 2nd batch later or tomorrow.... )

" It is a four part chore I think, going through olddddd stuff too and shredding stuff, making current notes on some things I have to keep tabs on. "

It is a good chore to do inside.... also a sign to me the weather is changing! ( Get 'er done!).

[Karen]

what about persimmons being ripe before that first frost and falling off the trees? I've got trees in and around my yard whose leaves are dying on the limbs, no color at all, straight to brown.

Don't have any crickets, squirrels or possums, have too many outdoor cats, not even mice or rabbits survive in this area, but there is an overload of acorns lying on the ground. Thought about baging them up and trying to make acorn flour.

[sassenach]

Could this be more from not enough rain?

[Granny]

Our persimmons are already ripe too Karen. Old timers used persimmon seed to forcast winter. In October, find a persimmon that has recently fallen from a tree. Take out a seed and split it open with a knife. You will find any one of the three pieces of "silverware" shapes. Fork, knife, or spoon. Checked ours and the little spoon is in there! If this theory is accurate, I should expect to have plenty of snow to shovel.

 

Also ran across this tip from Mother Earth News — Issue # 127 - August/September 1991 —

 

Remove a few twigs from a persimmon tree, cover them with water, and boil for 20 minutes. Strain and cool the liquid. Applied on a poison ivy or poison oak rash, it will stop the itch immediately, and after a few applications will dry the rash.

 

 

 

[Tx_Woman]

What do "heavy shells" mean for hickory nuts? My hickory trees are dropping tons of nuts this year (which I know only happens every so often), but not sure what the heavy part means? If it means just plain ole heavy, then I suppose that is true - i had several fall on my car this weekend and they made dents, so definately they are "heavy".

[Kevin B 123]

Someone bet me to this: http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...p;Number=243768

My hat's off to Granny !

 

here's another link

 

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/ca..._a_rough_winter

 

Can Acorns Predict a Rough Winter?

 

While many of us in the 21st century may think weather lore is more whimsical than wise, it's hard to hard to discount all of these "natural forecasters," especially when most of them are based on years of observation.

 

The challenge becomes in the handing down of the weather wisdom. Remember the game of telephone? One person would whisper something into the next person’s ear and so on down the line, and when the last person has to repeat what the original whisper was, it’s most often not anything like the original statement. Well the same goes for many of these weather sayings. They’ve been handed down from generation to generation, so perhaps in some of the handing down, some of the lore has been altered slightly. But some have remained the same and often times prove to be quite accurate.

 

The following are some Natural Signs of a Rough Winter that we’ve collected over the years. Check them out and let us know if you have witnessed any of these signs or have additional weather wisdom we should add to the list.

 

 

* Very thick onion skins or corn husks

 

* Woodpeckers sharing a tree

 

* Early arrival of crickets on the hearth

 

* Spiders spinning larger than usual webs

 

* Lots of acorns

 

* A small rust/orange band on a wooly worm caterpillar

 

* Trees are laden with green leaves late in the fall.

 

* Hickory nuts having heavy shells.

 

* Tree bark is heaviest on the north side of the tree.

 

* Crickets are in the chimney.

 

* Hoot owls call late into the fall.

 

* Raccoons have thick tails and bright bands

 

* Squirrels gathering nuts early in the year

 

* Pigs gathering sticks

 

* Frequent halos/rings around the sun or moon

 

• Heavy and numerous fogs in August

For More Weather Wisdom, Check out:

 

Peter Geiger’s Blog

 

Watch Weather Wisdom Videos

Tags: winter, folklore, rough winter, signs, woodpeckers, acorns

 

[moldy]

What about rose hips? Last year, they were the size of my pinky nail. this year, they're the size of my thumb! Just huge!