29 Signs of a Cold Winter

This morning isn't going well here in blog world. My post totally disappeared, except for the picture. I will try again.

I was posting on the Farmer's Almanac 20 Signs of Winter

Thicker than normal corn husks

Woodpeckers sharing a tree

Early arrival of the Snowy owl

Early departure of geese and ducks

Early migration of the Monarch butterfly

Thick hair on the nape (back) of the cow’s neck

Heavy and numerous fogs during August

Raccoons with thick tails and bright bands

Mice eating ravenously into the home

Early arrival of crickets on the hearth

Spiders spinning larger than usual webs and entering the house in great numbers
Pigs gathering sticks

Insects marching a bee line rather than meandering

Early seclusion of bees within the hive

Unusual abundance of acorns

Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river hank

“See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest”

Narrow orange band in the middle of the Woollybear caterpillar warns of heavy snow;

Fat and fuzzy caterpillars presage bitter cold

The squirrel gathers nuts early to fortify against a hard winter

Frequent halos or rings around sun or moon forecast numerous snow falls.

I was laughing a few minutes ago at Pigs gathering sticks. I thought that was unusual...who has ever seen pigs gathering sticks? My husband just said, "How many pigs have you watched? He has a point there. I was talking to my step-son yesterday. He is predicting a harsh and early winter. I asked him what he was basing that on. He said the early cold weather and rainy days. He had never heard about woolly bear caterpillars. I told him about the all black one that I saw on a blog. All black would predict a cold winter. He said, "There what did I tell you?" We'll just have to see if weather savy Dan knows what he is talking about. Here is my prediction....a mild winter, because those pesky Japanese Beetles were here longer than usual. A new one for the lists.

Balisha...the weather guru