As the Fall weather hits, how far behind is winter? We are seeing snow in Colorado to Montana and temperatures as cold as 18 degrees in Idaho and not much warmer in Northern Texas. One of the great predictors of the upcoming winter is the persimmon seed. In a supermarket near you, you should find a persimmon fruit. If you cut it open, a seed may be another clue to winter weather. According to old timers, persimmon seeds can be used to predict the severity of winter weather. When you cut the seed into two pieces, the persimmon seed will display one of three symbols. A knife shape will indicate a cold icy winter (wind cuts through you like a knife). A fork shape indicates a mild winter. A spoon shape stands for a shovel to dig out all the snow.
Here is my traditional listing of the 20 Signs of a hard winter as prepared by longtime friend Dick Goddard of WJKW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio.
20 SIGNS OF A HARD WINTER
• Thicker than normal corn husks
• Woodpeckers sharing a tree
• Early arrival of the Snowy owl
• Early departure of geese and ducks
• Early migration of the Monarch butterfly
• Thick hair on the nape (back) of the cow’s neck
• Heavy and numerous fogs during August
• Raccoons with thick tails and bright bands
• Mice eating ravenously into the home
• Early arrival of crickets on the hearth
• Spiders spinning larger than usual webs and entering the house in great numbers
• Pigs gathering sticks
• Insects marching a bee line rather than meandering
• Early seclusion of bees within the hive
• Unusual abundance of acorns
• Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river hank
• “See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest”
• Narrow orange band in the middle of the Woollybear caterpillar warns of heavy snow; fat and fuzzy caterpillars presage bitter cold
• The squirrel gathers nuts early to fortify against a hard winter
• Frequent halos or rings around sun or moon forecast numerous snow falls.
What are your observations about winter according to the 20 Signs?? Let us know.
Peter Geiger is the Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. 
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
17 comments
all spoons in southern IL
Our class opened Persimmon seeds and came up with 1 knife, 1 fork, and 19 spoons. We are in Southwest Missouri and hoping for alot of snow this year!!!!! It was alot of fun!!!
Opened 10 persimmons seeds here in EastTexas, had all spoons.
3 knives in North Central Louisiana! These were native persimmons off a tree in my yard.
Spoons in central Arkansas
Spoons here in Indiana
opened four here in missouri, had three spoons and one knife
Spoons in southern arkansas
Have had all knives here in Oklahoma!!!
We just opened 7 persimmon seeds here in east Texas and got 4 spoons and 3 knives. We had all spoons last year for the first time and ended up with 8-10″ of snow which was awesome! I’m not looking forward to these knives…
Opened some persimmon seeds here in Georgia, all are spoons.
If I remember correctly our persimmons in Arkansas always had a set of silverware, knife fork and spoon !
Inever saw one with just one piece in it!
Herrod
Here in Arkansas the Persimmons have dropped early and they are KNIVES this year at our house!
Texas isn’t looking too good.
spoon found in persimmon seed……..
we’re doomed here in arkansas….haha
all the persimmons i have opened , have had six seeds inside and all are spoons.
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