Cyndi's Two Cents

Prepare for winter

Commentary.

Uh-oh.  The persimmons are forecasting a harsh winter. . .again.  This time they could be right.

Cut open a persimmon seed and you’ll find a white image resembling a spoon, fork or knife.  Folklore has it that the utensil image inside the persimmon seed is the harbinger of winter’s weather.  The spoon signifies a harsh winter to come with plenty of snow to shovel.  The fork predicts less snow and a more “comfortable” winter.  The dreaded knife predicts a cold and icy winter with winds that “cut like a knife.”

I’m uncertain as to the specific number of seeds that should be “read” to determine the forecast, but we cut several open, only to find the ghostly white image of a spoon in every one.

The fact that we had 9-degree mornings, freezing rain, sleet and measurable snow before mid-November made the possibility of a harsh winter easier to believe but no easier to swallow.  It doesn’t take the fruit of this tree with a distinctive thick, dark gray bark broken into rectangular blocks to convince me that this winter might not be for the faint of heart.

One of my neighbors said that although the walnut trees were prolific this season, when he went to pick them up there were very few to be found.  That, he explained, is a sure sign of a bad winter, because the squirrels have been storing up in preparation for months of harsh weather.  There are those who believe an especially bushy tail on a squirrel or raccoon is a sign of a hard winter. While in my deer stand in recent days I witnessed many a bushy-tailed rodent with puffed out cheeks running up and down trees and across the ground, frantically digging and burying their bounty.

The color of a wooly worm (I never get that one right,) an early Monarch butterfly migration, muskrats burrowing high on the river bank, and thick hair on the back of cow’s neck are said to portend a less-than-desirable winter season.

You might not take these predictions seriously, but I’ll bet when a black cat crosses the road in front of you or you walk under a ladder or break a mirror, you do think – if even for a split-second – about the superstition and bad luck associated with the event.

Why, if we are aware  – even at a subconscious level – of the consequences associated with actions or events of the superstitious nature, do we so frequently fail to see the signs that portend real and serious trouble for our industry, our country, our world?

When our freedom of speech is challenged; when the handling and housing methods used on our farms is called inhumane and when emotion trumps science in a consumer’s mind – why do we fail to see those as idle threats or signs of what might come?  When prayer in school, placement of the Ten Commandments in public places, and our right to keep and bear arms is questioned, do we brush it off as a simple difference of opinion or do we read the signs and prepare for what might come next?

I’m not suggesting that we become suspicious of all who disagree or are ignorant of modern agriculture practices.  I am suggesting that we step up and pay attention to signs of what might come if we are ill-prepared.

Although we could be wrong, we need to be prepared for a very harsh winter.