Wooly Bears

These Little Guys are Supposed to be Predictors About Winter

Tradition has it that these caterpillars are indicators of the winter to come. 

This year I was beginning to worry about the little guys as I hadn't seen ANY.  I was afraid the cold flooding of the spring and summer had killed them all off.

Needless to say I was greatly relieved to find these while mowing Duke's yard at the Studio on September 8th, 2011. 

The story is that the earlier they show up, the larger they are, and the more narrow the band of brown around their middles, the harder and longer the winter will be. 

The year of the historic snowfall of winter and the historic flood of the Red River of the North the following spring, I started seeing them in June. 

Last year it was July and we had a rough winter. 

This year it's September.  These wooly bears are about average in length, not too fat, not too skinny, and their belly bands are about normal.  That they haven't shown up until September gives me hope.  According to my little friends, this year's winter won't be as bad as last year's. 

Everyone says this winter is going to be worse than last winter.

I'm hoping the Wooly Bears are right and everyone else is wrong.