I've always heard these little wooly bear caterpillars were great winter forecasters. If their stripe is wide the winter will be mild and if their stripe is narrow the winter will be severe.
The Old Farmers Almanac.com has this to say about winter in our area of the country. 
Annual Weather Summary: November 2009 to April 2010
Winter will be much colder than normal, with temperatures 3 degrees below normal, on average, in the east and 6 degrees below in the west. The coldest periods will occur in mid-December, early and mid- to late January, and early and mid- to late February. Precipitation and snowfall will be below normal in the east and above normal in the west. The snowiest periods will occur in mid- to late November, mid-December, early January, mid- to late February, and early to mid- and mid- to late March.
I'm not sure what this little guy is trying to tell me...yes, I've definitely seen them with wider stripes but this guy's isn't all that narrow either.
We've had such a cold, wet autumn that I am not looking forward to winter at all. I've missed the warm days of an indian summer this year!
Yesterday's wind blew all the remaining leaves off the trees but the burning bushes are still bright red. Do you see what I see?
19 comments:
interesting...we've had a much colder autumn this year too. I only wonder if that means a cold winter too. We haven't got much of any snow in the last few years, but this year may be a change! :)
Beautiful photos. I hope our winter won't be a bad one, but you're right, if our fall is any indication, we're in for a hard winter. laurie
Let's hope that the winter will not be too cold.I don't mind the snow,but dislike the terrible cold.I saw the lady bug immediately.
Blessings,Ruth
Well when I saw the photo of the fuzzy caterpillar I thought CUTE. Now that I've read the forecast I'm not longer thinking cute, I'm not thinking Scottie and I will have to win the lottery and move to California.
I don't even want to think of a cold winter... the Japanese beetles are showing up here nwo that the crops are slowly getting out of the fields so don't know if your photo is one of those or a ladybug..I immediately thought beetle!!!
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind comments. You take the most wonderful photos. We've had a warmer autumn than normal, but our summer was pretty mild compared to some. I wonder what that means?
Blessings,
Marcia
Betsy did a post on natures indicatons of the upcoming winter season. I have seen all colors of these wooly worms...lately just the black ones........
I did see the ladybug right away..
Everything I am reading says we're in for a cold, cold winter. Yes, I see your pretty guest there. Thousands of her cousins are on my porch now! :c)
What a great post. I am hoping for a mild one.
My burning bushes are now bare. I wish the almanac would just say that winter will start in Dec and end in Mar. Sure would save for a lot of reading...lol.
What a great shot of the fuzzy-wuzzy, Marsha! If we have another cold and snowy winter I think I'll go into hibernation! Those little buggers are getting into our house now too.
Marsha, sweet lady bug. Not looking forward to winter at all. And I'm losing hope of Indian summer.
Marsha, I saw a couple of those caterpillars in Great Bend, Kansas and the orange section was about the same as your little guy. ... I thought the striped seemed wide. I hope the Farmers Almanac is wrong for your area. If I remember correctly, you definitely had more than your share of snow last year.
Great pics of the caterpillar ... Mine turned out blurry. (:
Interesting, Marsha, you get your forecast from a hairy caterpillar? LOL! Cool pics!
Hang onto your hat today Marsha -- I hear we're supposed to get some fierce winds again. Too bad the leaves in my backyard are too wet to blow away....
We too have had the wet and cold autumn so who knows what the winter will bring. My grandfather always said to look at the 'wooly worms' too. I saw the lady bug.. Here we have infestations of them. Some places they are creeping into the house, all over the walls, and looking for a winter home. My dad sucks them up in the sweeper he has so many... Nice post Marsha.
I love the old wives (farmers) tales. So maybe he's trying to tell you it will be an average winter! The Old Farmer might be wrong :-) Pretty little fuzzy creature. And a cute little ladybug :-) well camouflaged.
I love reading the Farmers Almanac...I'm not really sure if all comes to be..but it is fun to predict!
Hopefully your little wooly guy is saying little snow and moderate temps! Well, that's what I want anyhow..lol!
Love your lady bug catch..and that burning bush color is quite stunning!
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