I believe ... I believe

By Anne McKee / guest columnist

September 14, 2007 12:43 am

— This morning as I clicked through the television channels I blinked my bleary eyes to make certain I was reading the correct weather forecast. Can it be true? Let me explain.
The “weatherman” that I caught on the TV this morning seemed all of sixteen years of age; however, his message was delivered with the most impressive authority, well, maybe of a 30-year-old?
Are you ready for this? According to the junior weather forecaster, we will enjoy nice temps this weekend with a low in the 50’s on Sunday morning! I’m inclined to believe him.
Yes, I believe ... I believe!
The long hot summer may well be over for the Deep South by Sunday morning even though the memories of wearing shorts at Thanksgiving, and pouring the AC into my house until deer season are fresh on my mind. As an aside, it’s always easy for me to remember when deer season begins, because it’s around my birthday on November 18th ... Lucky Me! I will expound on the unfortunate timing of my birthday at a later date ... so stay tuned.
Moving forward let us think of nature as a weather forecaster — I believe some old-timer type watchers-of-weather paid attention to the squirrels as they gathered acorns for the winter months, or the wooly worms.
Wooly worms?
Yes, wooly worms are short, fuzzy caterpillars, and in the fall supposedly can tell you what kind of weather the coming winter will hold by the size of the reddish brown band around the middle of their bodies. The narrower the band will indicate the harshness of the upcoming winter.
I just wonder whom actually first thought of getting up-close-and-personal with the little fuzzy ones to make an observation of the band in the first place? My official stand on worms ... the further away from me, the better. But, that’s just me.
And the little worms are not the only fuzzy show in town ... our friends mentioned earlier, the squirrels, will actually build their nests in lower tree branches, plus gather and bury or hide their nuts early. Not to be left out in the cold, dogs, horses, cows, squirrels and rabbits will have thicker than usual fur coats. Then, if the fur on the bottom of rabbit’s feet is thicker, and the tail of a squirrel extremely bushy, then, winter will be cold and snowy. The birds will huddle closer on the ground, and eat berries earlier in the season forecasting a cold winter ... and most perplexing of all, if the turkey breastbone, after cooking, is purple or dark blue…this indicates a harsh winter is ahead as well.
It has even been said when a beaver cuts wood a month ahead of time look out for a bad winter, though I’m not sure what month is perfect for Mr/Mrs. Beaver? The woodchucks go into hibernation early, and Woodpeckers will totally leave the vicinity when their senses indicate a rough winter. I have a new respect for Woodpeckers.
Insects have their own strategies pertaining to a bad, and cold winter. There will be an abundance of spiders in the fall (Oh Yippee!), and the ants will build their nests extremely high, plus, when hornets nest high up in the trees it’s going to be a nasty winter, for sure.
Not that we often have snow storms in east central Mississippi, but it might come in handy to know folklore-forecasting indicates there will be snow within 26 days of smoke from a chimney that goes down and settles on the ground, and to count the number of ground fogs in August will determine the number of snows for Winter.
Other interesting folklore predictors:

(1) Three months after the first katydid sings one may expect the first killing frost.

(2) The first 12 days after Christmas indicate what each month in the next year will be like.

(3) Cows and deer stand facing west if bad weather is approaching, and stand facing east when expecting good weather.
See the following website for more of these handy weather facts: http://www.1450wgns.com/folklore.htm
You’ve heard of “talking veggies” haven’t you? If expecting a cold winter, the husks on corn will have been much thicker, and plants that have berries will have had an abundant crop.
The Farmers’ Almanac has been predicting the weather for nearly 200 years. My Paw Paw Harrison in Newton County, as well as most people who worked the land, staked his entire crop on advice from the Almanac. It continues to provide readers an outlook for the year ahead.
So, this morning when I heard the cool temps were on the way for our upcoming weekend, I didn’t consult the wooly worms ... Ughhh! ... or check out the hornet nest ... Yikes! But instead, I looked through my closet for long sleeves and comfy, warm, and snuggly jeans. I checked the bureau to see if my favorite comforter needed laundering. I looked in the kitchen for hot chocolate mix, and marshmallows, plus, plenty of preparations for making my world-famous chili ... you know, important stuff!
I’m happy to report all was there and accounted for, and now I’m ready ... bring on that harsh winter, and who knows? I might be able to make friends with those wooly worms after all, that is, if the weather is too cold. I’m thinking anything wooly can’t be all that bad!
Wishing you and yours a wonderful weekend!