Our Prediction for Winter

I know!  I am sorry I am talking about winter when we are only half way through Autumn. But the weather is getting colder. We even turned our heat on this past week. The leaves are falling from the trees. The days are shorter than they were.

As the temperatures dip lower, you can't help but wonder what type of winter will we have? Will it be snowy? Icy  Could we get lucky and have a mild winter?

There is an old farmer's tale that a fruit can tell us what type of winter we will have. The fruit is a persimmon. The farmer's tale says that if you cut a persimmon seed in half you will see either a fork, a spoon, or a knife. 

• If you see a fork, you are likely to experience a mild winter with light, soft, dry snow.  
• If you see a spoon, you are likely to experience a hard winter. With lots of heavy snow, therefore needing a shovel (spoon).
• If you see a knife, you are likely to experience hard winds and ice, that will cut right through you. 

Today, we visited with my Momma up in the country. She had collected some persimmons a few weeks ago and still had them around. They were not in good shape for eating but they were just great for cutting open the seeds. 

This is a persimmon fruit. It might be a little past its peak. But the seeds inside of it are still green and perfect for predicting the winter ahead of us.

I smooshed the persimmon apart and pulled out the seeds. I think there are about three seeds per persimmon. I tried to pick out the seeds that were a little "fatter" than the others. It gave me more to work with.

This is a persimmon Seed, after I have washed and dried it all up.  Take a knife and cut the seed in half. 

And, the prediction for this years winter.....

A spoon! 

Lots of snow. Lots of shoveling.  At least we have a heads up, we can start stocking up and preparing to be snowed in!  Well, that is if you believe a persimmon seed.