The Woolly Worms Are Back!

Behold, the Woolly Worm

 

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

      As we worked around the yard this week, we came across the famous woolly worm, a harbinger of cold weather. You never see them when you are searching for them. They only appear when you aren't expecting them! Like when you put your hand down to pull a weed or pick a flower. Then they will startle you with a little "fuzzy wiggle"!  They are never in a hurry, and had rather be left alone. The old weather tale about the size of the stripes is never clear to me.  Is it the wider the band, the harsher the winter?  Or vice-versa?  The picture above was taken last fall.  You notice the woolly fellow is solid black.  We had a historic ice storm in January.  Does that mean solid black means harsh winters?  As I recall, I also saw other last fall with various size stripes.  This year I have seen several--different width stripes.  One was solid tan!  There must be a better way to predict the winter weather. Guess we will just get ourselves ready for cold winter weather and meet it head on!  The generator is ready!  Let is snow!
     The guys at Handyman Hardware in Compton say the large number of bears we are seeing now are a sign of a bad winter to come.  Jack's trail camera attests to the fact that the bears are on the prowl.  Of course, they should be since they are storing up fat for the winter hibernation.  I read that they need up to 20,000 calories a day while getting ready for winter!  Gads!  Humans don't need that much in a month!

     The mama and cubs of several weeks ago are prominent visitors along the trail and are taking a large portion of the deer corn.  They are funny to see their antics on film as they try to get into the large barrel feeder in the tree.  We are also seeing a very large bear who has found a way to get his paws into the barrel!

     Signs of autumn are everywhere.  The trees along the highway going down into Ponca are already showing a lot of color, and everyone is excited and expecting a beautiful and colorful fall.  The elk are bugling full blast in the valley. (By the way, Color Fest at the Ponca Elk Center is the last weekend in October.)  I saw two hummers yesterday and none today.  (These are the stragglers and should be headed south soon. I'll keep a feeder out until I am sure they are gone--usually about the 15th of October.)
    The cool fog outside the window right now reminds me that summer '09 is history.  And, a  beautiful summer it was too, with cooler and wetter than normal days.  We are never satisfied--now we want everyday to be a bright, sunny fall day.  Then we will want bright, sunny and snowy winter days! 

In everything give thanks!  1 Thes. 5:18

 

We hail the merry autumn days,

When leaves are turning red;

Because they're far more beautiful

Than anyone has said..

                                 Charles Dickens