Farmer's Winter Predictions: Fact or Folklore?

As we watch the leaves turn and we clean out the flower beds we hold our breath and wonder what Mother Nature will bring this winter. We have skipped frost and jumped right into a freeze with the temps in the low lying parts of Easton falling in to the 20’s.  The past week has been mild again, but what will the rollercoaster bring in December through March? Farmers have several tricks they use to predict the upcoming season.

Mother Nature gives us all kinds of signs that winter is coming and to be ready for what she has in store. Hints for what type of weather to expect are scattered around town, have you seen them? If you drive RT 106 along New Pond, you will find a bee’s nest hanging over the yellow line about twenty to 25 feet up in the air. It was first spotted a month ago, but the bees must have started building it way back in July. As more leaves fall from the trees, I have begun to see more nests nestled high up in the big branches around town. It’s said when bees start building hives at heights that reach the double digits they are preparing for a snowy winter and want to stay above the snow banks. Acorns are every place I look, happy squirrels are rolling in piles of acorns like a kid in Hilliard’s Candy Store. A lot of acorns means lots of snow, the abundance of acorns give the squirrels something to store up for the winter.

Old farmers would watch for fog and if there was a fog in August they prepared for a bad winter. Did any of you see the August fog this year? As kids we would play with the Woolly Bear Caterpillars, but do you recall the rule about if it has a heavy coat (fat and furry) and the brown band in the middle is thin? According to lore, the less brown there is the worse the winter will be. Lastly, there are persimmon seeds, cut a seed open and the shape of the meat inside determines the winter conditions. A knife formation means bitter cold, a fork is mild and a spoon indicates lots of snow to shovel. Some are telling us to be prepared, get the extra wood stacked up and the shovels ready while others are telling us it’ll be cold but not so white. What will happen only time will tell.

With the hours of sunlight dwindling and snow soon to fall I know I need to focus on the ‘to do’ list. Prep the garden beds by pulling my Dahlias and finishing my seed saving, and getting the winter Rye on the pumpkin patch, along with a fresh covering of compost and aged cow manure. And let’s not forget about getting the last of the goodies from the local farms to stock the pantry and freezer. If it’s going to be a cold, white winter nothing will be better then pulling out a local Blue Hubbard squash or opening a home-canned jar of tomatoes or sipping tea sweetened with local honey to help warm you up until the days of spring.