Yet Another Weather Forecaster!

   There are all sorts of pieces of folklore concerning the weather.  One says that the color of the sky can predict the day's weather.  One says that the thickness of the red band on a woolly bear caterpillar tells you how cold a winter is.  Another claims that the migration of fiddler crabs can foretell a hurricane's landfall and strength.  Many others deal with drought, winter's cold, depth of snow, arrival of spring and even if rain will fall within an hour.  Just about any oddity of nature has its own tale and ties to weather.  

  This afternoon, I made a quick hike around the property.  At the bend of the path near the wild persimmon trees (and therein is another winter forecast), I noticed that the Yaupon Trees were loaded with berries.  These are the wild type that grow where they may on our hillside.  While the berries are toxic, I use the leaves in tisanes so it pays for me to leave them be.  It was those berries that took me aback, however.  In the past, the berries have not ripened until late October or even into November but here were some bright red berries. Why so early this year?  I pondered the matter and decided that there had to be some tale attached to the occurrence.

  Sure enough, when I checked "folklore about yaupon", several tales came up.  Some were tied to the toxicity of the berries and did not interest me but one did pertain to the weather.  "If Yaupon berries ripen early, it is a sign that winter will soon follow and be abnormally harsh."  Well, now!  "Abnormally harsh"...does not sound right for this far south but perhaps we are due for a winter.  Honestly, we have not had one in several years.  

  I mulled over the fact about the berries then thought of the rats that I have been battling in the greenhouse.  Why have they moved indoors and why the extreme hoarding of seeds and bedding?  The woodpeckers and squirrels have been busy, too. Mama Squirrel has added extra padding to her nest and has been pulling hickory nuts and acorns to add beneath the lining. She is going to be set for winter.  The woodpeckers have been stashing acorns in crevices of tree bark and between the slats of the garden fence. They, too, are ready to ride out some lean times.  Maybe Son and I should start gathering firewood for the old wood-burning stoves.  We have plenty of foodstuffs to tide us over if the roads get icy but heating during excessive cold depends on our woodpile.  Yep, it may be time to start laying in a stock of firewood. If we believe the berries and the attached folklore and, if, we believe the critters and their habits, perhaps we should be doing the same..  Hmmm...think I better go grab a few of the remaining persimmon seeds and see what the seeds have to say.   Those things have not been wrong yet!

Drippy, Drippy, Drippy!

  Back in October, I was happily munching on the wild persimmons that grow beside the path near the marsh. These little golden blobs are sort of an acquired taste since they can be quite tart or astringent at times. To me, they are perfect.  It was. also, at this time that I cut open the seeds to see the "weather forecast" for the coming winter months.  There were spoons.  For those who are not familiar with this folklore, cut open the seeds and you will find cutlery.  A knife means stabbing cold, a spoon represents snow (or, in our case, rain) and a fork means warm.  I found spoons....lots and lots of spoons.  Nary another utensil showed.  I pondered this.

  Well, so far this winter, we have had rain...lots and lots of rain.  In fact, I think this has to be one of the wettest winters on record for the Deep South.  It has also been warm.  My old wood-burning stove has only been used a handful of times this season.  I have only burned two wheelbarrows of firewood and some of that was more for ambiance than heat.  

  As I write, it is pouring rain once again.  Our temperatures hover around the mid 60s both day and night.  When it is not raining, it is foggy.  Pea soup thick fog blankets the entire Bayou.  The humidity is a stifling to a point that we finally broke down and bought a dehumidifier for the living room.  It works great if you can get past the idea of having to empty the thing.  The "empty" alarm sounds just about every 6 hours....day and night just to keep the indoor humidity a around a 50% level in that one room.  Honestly...when you hear folks down here say "Its not the cold.  It is the humidity." or, in the summer, "It is not the heat.  It is the humidity.", believe us.  We speak the truth.

Persimmon Snacks!

  Along about this time of year, I start to keep watch on the wild persimmon trees that dot the woods around the Bayou.  Late October and early November sees the fruit starting to ripen and, if I am not quick, I will get nary a nibble even though there are dozens of trees.  The quarter-sized fruit goes fast when the possums and coons get a sniff of them ripening.  Each time the old dog and I take a hike, a good handful of the persimmons is a must-have snack. 

  This afternoon's snack provided a dozen or so seeds from the persimmons.  These were brought inside, rinsed and dried.  The seeds had a purpose!  The winter weather forecast was about to be revealed!  The seeds (when split) reveal the type of weather for the next few months...supposedly.  Each year, I carefully split seven or eight of the seeds just out of curiosity.  This is easier said than done, however.  To my imagination, splitting a persimmon seed is akin to splitting a penny.  It is hard to do!  If you are not careful, that splitting can become slicing of the finger!  So...I made things easier.  First, as I mentioned, wash and dry the seeds.  Persimmon seeds directly out of a persimmon are slimy!  Even after their bath, the things are still slippery and hard to hold.  It is a good idea to have a dish towel handy.  Now for my brilliant idea!  Use a pair of sturdy kitchen sheers to trim the edges of the seed.  This helps tremendously!  Trimming the edge gives you a flatter spot to start the knife.  After trimming, pinch the seed between the thumb and forefinger and SLOWLY, CAREFULLY begin slicing.  WATCH THOSE FINGERS!!  Trust me...It is easy to slip here!  Once you get one seed split, it is time to give up on the rest!  Nah, keep going.  You are doing great!  I did nine seeds from four persimmons.  The results show the weather forecast.  Snow?  Sleet?  Cold? Warm?  Inside the seed, you find a quite clear image of cutlery.  Spoons (snow shovels)=snow/rain.  Forks (Pitchfork)=warm.  Knife (spear)=stabbing cold.  Well....

  This year, I found all spoons.  That usually means rain, here in the Deep South, if the folklore rings true.  BUT....looking back since I have been recording this "evidence", we sure have had a LOT of spoons!  Admittedly, there have been a few knives but rarely a fork (even though, one may argue that our winters are warm compared to other folks').  Perhaps, looking at the inside of the seed, just gives us the idea whether the seed is viable.  The "spoon" may simply be the part that will eventually sprout.  This makes more sense as we sure have a lot of baby persimmon trees each year.  Those possums and coons seem to plant lots of seeds.  At least trying to get the seeds gives me a good reason to be munching the fruit!

Only a Wannabe...

  Today was warm and sunny.  This was a nice change after the chilly, predawn walk so the old dog and I headed out to do a bit of yard work.  He chased squirrels at his leisurely pace (walking) while I helped Son remove the hurricane window coverings.  (Yep, those things were still up since Nate pushed through here.)  When we removed one off the east side of the house, a caterpillar came tumbling down.  Oops!  We had disturbed his nice hibernating spot! Well, not one to harm anything needlessly, I picked up the critter and moved it to the greenhouse.  There, it can snooze until it deems it safe enough to do its fantastic transformation into a moth.  Just so you will know..those fuzzies are not all soft and fluffy.  They are more prickly than anything but they do not harm you in any way, shape or form. The caterpillar snoozed the entire time I held it!

  The caterpillar was fuzzy black and red.  Although, these are quite often called "Woolly Bears" by folks around here, that is a false identification.  This critter might be woolly but it is not a true Woolly Bear.  That critter is the caterpillar of the Isabella Tiger Moth.  Mine is the caterpillar of a Giant Leopard Moth.  Which, in both cases, is rather odd when you think about it.  Why does a "bear" turn into a "cat"?  Go figure.  

  The Woolly Bear caterpillars have long been touted to predict the coming winter.  According to all studies, it does not.  Instead, it actually tells what the previous winter was like.  The red bands have something to do with how long the caterpillar was in that stage and not how cold it is going to get.  Which is sort of dumb for me to be explaining as my critter friend is not even the right caterpillar so probably cannot tell me anything about the weather from the previous winter or the upcoming one.  Still, the caterpillar was rescued, the window covers are down, Mr. PJ was a happy camper roaming the hillside and I am exhausted from standing on a ladder all day!  Fun times!

They Are At It Again!

  Those silly raccoons are at it again.  I have to give it to them...they are resourceful rascals.  Eating out of the compost, bird feeders and cat's bowl is not enough.  Obviously, the coons are still hungry after filling their bellies with handouts so they have to raid the fruit trees.  Nary a pear hangs on the four trees now.  For two nights in a row, the varmints climbed the trees and gnawed on pears.  Now, I have none.  Perhaps I need to get better at defending my trees against these marauders but I am just not sure how to go about it.  Perhaps the rascals need to stop being so cute then I would not hesitate to set traps.  Nah...probably would not even then.  At least, they have no more pears to eat this year!

  This morning, however, I found that the raiding rascals found another food source.  The wild persimmon trees took a massive hit last night.  I have seen two baby raccoons running around the yard lately but this looks more like the work of the entire family!  Persimmons littered the ground and most were already covered in ants.  Only a few remain in the trees and those are far too green for me to eat.  I guess the raccoons will feast upon those as well.

  Of those on the ground, I did manage to rescue three persimmons to use in my winter weather forecasting.  Once these ripen to golden mushiness, I will savor the fruit and slice the seeds.  So far, the seeds have done a rather good job at predicting our winters and it would be great to know what is in store with the forthcoming season.  Thanks to the coons clumsiness, I have three....three chances at seeing how much firewood will be needed to heat the Little Bayou House.  Thanks for being so generous, Silly Coons!

Where Did Winter Go?

  The "Big Thaw" has come to the Bayou.  After three whole days of cold...at least cold by Bayou standards, our ice has melted and we are looking at weather more usual for the area.  Our cool spells never last more than a few days max, then we are back to rain and warm temperatures.  The ice is a novelty, however, and folks get real excited when they see it.  Most of the time, we have sleet...not snow but it will never fail to be heard "Snow!!! We are getting snow!!"  Nope...ice...we are getting sleet.  There is a vast difference.  Snow is pretty.  Ice is slippery.  Enough said.

  Like I said, the ice started melting this morning and now is a thing of the past...a mere memory that is fast slipping from the mind.  This morning, while on the pier, Mark and I found that our fishing buckets were frozen with about a three inch slab of ice.  Cool!  Ice is one of those things that intrigues me.  Take a liquid, add cold air and you have a solid. In this case, we had a solid with lots of bubbles.  The wind might have had something to do with that since the water was being churned with every gust.  Now, take that solid, add sunshine and you have the liquid back again.  The ice melted and dripped all over the pier boards.

  Tonight sees us much warmer but the rains will come again.  If you recall, my cutting of the persimmon seeds during the end of October revealed spoons...lots of spoons!  I was a tad confused by this as spoons supposedly mean rain or snow by the folklore method of predicting the coming winter.  I was beginning to doubt the veracity of my seeds.  Surely we could not be having THAT much precipitation this winter.  Well, we have.  December saw far above the average and January has exceeded that already.  Spoons do not lie...persimmon seeds do not lie.  I wonder what the rest of January and then February and March have in store for us.  Rain?  Ice?  Why not snow???

Have I Been Duped?

  Once again, I spent a good ten minutes of my morning splitting persimmon seeds.  There was a little "madness in my methods" since I was checking the weather forecast for the coming winter.  My trial of the seeds is still being processed.  Question???  Can persimmon seeds predict the severity of winter?  I am still pondering the fact.  

  According to the Old Timers around the area, if you slice a seed and find the image of a fork, the winter will be mild.  If you come across a knife, the weather will prove to be stabbing cold.  A spoon, on the other hand, will see you shoveling snow or, at best down here, having a dusting of powder or perhaps sleet.  For the past couple of years, I tested.  Knives and spoons seem to be the most prominent symbol in the seeds that I have tested over the years.  Ice and snow!  Well, that did work out a couple of times with ice storms.  Forks were not often present but warm winters are almost the rule down here.  

  I am thinking that perhaps this system is purely a myth and the Old Timers who keep swearing by it, are fudging a bit on their finds.  When I cut the seeds today, I found spoons....lots and lots of spoons. Mark and I mulled over the discovery.  Should we lay in an extra cord or two of firewood and perhaps weatherize the windows?  Perhaps an investment of some more blankets would be prudent?  Spoons...lots of spoons! Bring on the snow!  Or have I just been duped by a couple of old geezers who were pulling my leg?

One Up, One Down

  Up and down, up and down.  It felt good to be on the pier once again after my bout with whatever ailed me.  Mark and I sat watching the hundreds of migratory birds that had filled the Bay during my absence. Cormorants and loons were bobbing about as they breakfasted on menhaden and shrimp.  Pelicans were making huge splashes in the water as they dove after little mullet and, of course, the ever present seagulls were making a huge racket as they begged for handouts.  In fact, while Mark fished, several times a seagull grabbed his bait and tried to fly away from the band of hungry birds.  Mark would have to yank his bait back out of the beak of the bird.  I was just thankful that no bird was hooked during these ordeals!

  It was two of the Brown Pelicans that actually amused me this morning.  The pair seemed to be working in tandem to catch their breakfast.  One would splash down into the water while the other was taking flight just feet from the point of impact.  This method seem to be working.  The confused menhaden and mullet were being scooped up in great quantities.  Both birds were fattening up for the wintertime when the fish might be scarce.  

  Last week, hundreds of White Pelicans visited the Bay then went on their merry way to the east.  Old timers around here used to be able to properly forecast the coming weather by observing the critters.  With all of the birds seemingly coming a bit early this year, I wonder if we are in for an early winter.  I guess I better get down to the wild persimmon tree to check the seeds.  That is my surefire way of predicting the weather!

Weather Forecast? Clear Tomorrow

  Mark and I meandered down to the pier this evening just in time to watch the sun slide down behind the pines.  The setting sun blazed across the sky making the entire thing red.  Hmmm.  I have heard several old sayings about this and the weather for the coming day.  "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight" or the marine version of "Red sky at night, sailor's delight" both popped into the head this evening.  Those folks sure did like their sunsets, I suppose.   Both occupations seem to love red sunsets.  I pondered if there was much truth to the sayings.  I had read once that it all had to do with atmospheric pressure or some such scientific knowledge.

  I checked and sure enough, it seems as if both the shepherds and sailors were great at weather-forecasting.  Our day should be bright and sunny tomorrow.  According to knowledgeable folks, that all that redness is caused by dust and other small particles trapped up in the atmosphere by high pressure.  This supposedly scatters all the blue light and leaves only the red visible.  When we see the red sky at night, it means that a high pressure system is moving in from the west and with it comes dry and mild weather. 

  Mark and I watched that sun disappear and then headed back to the Little Bayou House. I can rest assured that my garden will need to be watered in the morning and that if I hang the laundry on the line it will get dry.  There will be no storms on the Bayou tomorrow!  The sky said so!

A Little Bit of Autumn!

  While most of the country is basking in the glory of fall colors, here on the Bayou, we have to be content with what we get.  That is very little in the way of brilliant foliage.  Usually by the time the leaves change from their summer greenery, they are already dropping from the tree limbs.  I find more color on the ground than waving from the treetops.  This is probably due to our lack of cool air and our copious amounts of rainfall. Factor in the high humidity that tends to make mush out of just about everything and you will understand why I am thrilled to find any bit of orange on the hillside.  Later on, the hickory trees usually give us a bit of gold and the stray maple may just pop a bit of red but while everyone else is oohing and ahhing, I am wandering about hunting anything reminiscent of fall.  While I love winter, I am in hopes of a least a bit of autumn to grace the area.

  My hike was short today.  Since Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, is not longer with us, I just cannot get the "feel" of a good hike.  I am taking baby steps to adjust to her absence.  I did wander down to the persimmon tree to grab a snack before the possums eat all of the fruit.  Here, I found my tiny sliver of the season.  What leaves were left on the tree were golden...sort of...maybe?  These leaves would just have to do.  I was satisfied that autumn had made an appearance at least.

  Speaking of persimmons, the "weather-forecasting" seeds predict an unusually cold winter ahead for us.  Knives and spoons were seen inside with the images of knives being dominant.  I guess I should prepare for a "stabbing cold" few months.  To be sure, I did compare my findings with the "Old Farmer's Almanac" and, sure enough, they agreed that Son and I had better start laying in a supply of firewood.  Perhaps this winter will be a good time to catch up on crafts, reading and baking.  Brrr!

The Spoons take it by (snow)storm!

 Last fall, I decided to test the "Old Wives' Tale" of weather forecasting by persimmon seeds.  Theory has it that a piece of cutlery can be found inside a sliced seed and that piece can predict the severity of the coming winter.  I dutifully sliced open seven persimmon seeds.  The inside of one was black.  Obviously, the seed was rotten so that one was discarded.  In the remaining six, one contained the image of a knife and five had spoons.  Hmmm.  According to legend, we were bound for a snowy, wet winter.  A knife represents stabbing cold, a spoon stands for snow while a fork means a mild winter.  Those spoons and that one knife did not bode well for the Bayou.  I was curious just how well the seeds' prediction would hold.  It did.  Actually, for the first time in years, we had snow...errr...ice.  Lots of crunchy ice blanketed the Coast not once but twice with lots of sleet and snow flurries dotted around the rest of the winter.  Yep, that is about as much snow as we receive this far down in the Deep South.  I was happy that the seeds did so well with their forecasting as now, perhaps, I could determine just how much firewood we would need to gather. 

  Once again, it is persimmon time on the Bayou.  I have a number of the wild trees dotting the hillside that provide me with plenty of leaves for tea, gobs of the marble-sized fruit for jam  AND loads of the large seeds for weather forecasting!  I decided today was the day to test a few more seeds.  Elizabeth and I sat at the table while I snipped the edges of a seed with the scissors.  This makes it easier to slice.  (Wild persimmon seeds are really hard!)  Once I succeeded in slicing the seed, she announced "Spoon!"  Well, alrighty then!  Spoon = snow.  I sliced the second seed.  "Spoon!" she said once again.  Hmmm..snow. Then came time for the third seed.  You guessed it, once again, she proclaimed "Spoon!"  All three seeds had spoons.  I sliced four more seeds and nothing varied.  All seven seeds contained spoons.  No forks nor knives ever even tried to show up in the seeds!  Spoons!  Seven spoons.  Oh, my!

  Well, once again, it is a matter of wait and see.  Will we have another icy, snowy winter ahead of us this year?  Who knows?  Still, to be on the safe side, Michael and I will start cutting firewood in the coming weeks.  Being prepared for the worst case scenario is always the best idea.  Fire up the chainsaw!  Where is the axe?  I am ready!