Autumn Cutie

Woolly bear caterpillar

While out for my afternoon walk this, this little guy was crossing the road in front of me. He or she is a perennial autumnal friend who has become a figment of nature folklore. Back in my youth woolly bear caterpillars were said to be a predictor of the weather. Narrow brown bands for a harsh winter and thicker brown bands for a mild winter. Hard to say what this little guy is predicting but I would say the brown band is narrower than ones I've seen before. We had quite the snowy cold winter last year, who knows what we are in store for this year.

Now another folklore predictor of a harsh winter is acorn production. Lots of acorns are supposed to be a sign that nature is providing nutrition for the animals. Squirrels can scurry around storing up the mother load for the long winter ahead. But according to an article I just read acorn production is a factor of weather conditions during the two to three years of acorn development. Instead of being a forecaster it is really a history lesson.

Acorns