Fall has arrived here in Southeast Missouri. Breakout the pumpkin spices, the hoodies and the chili recipes. Let the bonfires begin!
Farmers will begin the removal and storage of their crops. The sky will be filled with the “honking” of geese as they begin their journey to their winter homes. We will soon awaken to cool crisp mornings with frost on the pumpkin. The countryside will become painted with bright yellows, oranges and reds. Mother Earth will show off her artistic abilities. Her forest creatures will be obsessed with gathering and storing their winter food.
Folks will turn to folklore to try and predict the upcoming winter weather. There are two particular methods that are popular in my area.
The persimmon seed. People will look for the ripe fruit and then they will remove the seed. They will split the seed open to see what shape, called a cotyledon, is hidden within. It is said that if the shape is that of a fork we will experience a mild winter. If it is the shape of a spoon we will have an abundance of snow and if it is that of a knife we will have a cold blustery winter so the saying “cut like a knife”.
Another popular legend is the “wooly worm”. The wooly worm is a caterpillar made up of 13 segments representing the 13 weeks of winter. The browner the worm the milder the winter. The blacker it is the harsher the winter. The number of black segments represent how many weeks of bad winter weather we will have.
Unfortunately there is no scientific evidence proving either method works.
Here in the Midwest we are fortunate to be able to experience all four seasons. Here in Missouri there are times you can experience all four seasons in one day. We all have our favorite seasons for one reason or another but as for me I am delighted that the fall season has begun. I can smell the chili cooking and the smoke of the bonfire.
doubledacres 
I forgot about that ‘old timey’ bit regarding the persimmon seed. We forget so much. I know the brain pushes aside non-essential information sometimes, but I need to get it to stop filtering against my will.
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Heh, interesting – I have never heard of either of these two methods but they sound interesting. Fall is always a sober time for me, as my body becomes well aware that “the winter shutdown” is coming… I do agree that it is beautiful.
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When winter hits Arthur is definitely more active.
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Interesting! I just read another person’s post that shared the caterpillar predictor with a photo of one and they live in Canada! I’ve never heard of that caterpillar prediction! Haha, it’s cute! I’ve not heard of the persimmon either… We have out here such mild winters that the only thing we worry about is how rainy it might be from year to year! 😀 I Love Fall/winter ~ wish we had the colors on the trees to go with this time of year! Take care my friend! ❤️
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Fall and winter are my favorite times of the year also. I love waking up and finding Mother Earth blanketed with fresh snow. Just saw a wooly worm jet black with one brown segment. I will let you know what happens. All the persimmons I have opened have a spoon in them. I guess we shall see. My grandpa always said if there was an abundance of acorns and other wild life food that it was going to be a rough winter. He said Mother Earth was giving them the extra food for the harsh winter. We shall see.
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We are close to the peak of color here in northern Minnesota Wayne. The fish are starting to make their eggs so they are on a feeding spree when most outdoors people are hunting. dehydrating peppers today (trying not to rub my eyes even though I wore gloves) taking some nature shots and getting ready for freezing nights. Enjoy those bonfires!
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Wow I didn’t realize it happened so soon up there. Down here the bass just started busting shad. Have some color but not much. Went to a Civil War reenactment Saturday and got some great pics. I do love me a good bonfire.
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Our nights are mid 30’s to mid 50’s. all over the place which is normal. No real frost yet which is unusual.
The civil war reenactment sounds like a great thing. Have a great fall. I’ll be fishing bow hunting grouse hunting and then rifle deer hunting. Those sacred rituals of fall and filling freezer with something other than broccoli.
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