Published November 22, 2005 Beaty connection? To those Beatys that have connected with the Police Chief of Crossville there is a group picture at: http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/Chronicle/News/citycouncilheroes.html Crab Orchard's Helen Lane's daughter's weather prediction: It's looking like there's not going to be much snow this winter as we only counted three early morning fogs in August and they were light. However, hornets nests have been built low to the ground this year which indicates cold. Also, the woolly worms have been black on both ends and brown in the middle which indicates the hardest part of the winter will hit at the beginning and end, with a lull, or mild spell in between. I've had several reports of yellow jackets nests which were above ground in mid-summer (which is a rarity as they usually build underground) but went underground before summer's end. I had never even seen a yellow jackets nest before until just a few years ago when many of them built above ground. They look just like a hornets nest but are much smaller. Being built above ground usually means that the winter is going to be mild with much rain over the course of it. This is what I predicted that year and was what subsequently followed. The appearance of them above ground again this year serves as an indicator that, again, a mild rainy spell will ensue. This also corresponds with the brown band on the woolly worms indicating the mild portion of the winter will hit in the middle with any cold or ice and mild snows falling at the beginning and end of winter. The mast crop (acorns, hickory nuts, etc...) has been moderately heavy this fall, which would support the prediction of cold spells. I've noticed, too, that the fur on the animals is moderately heavy and the cornshucks on corn has been moderately thick also indicating cold spells. Something I have noticed, however, which could indicate that the cold spells could be harsh, is that the leaves on the trees this year are thick and have hung on longer than usual which is definitely a sign of a harder winter. This is puzzling because the lack of early morning fogs in August doesn't support much snow for the winter, so this could indicate ice, perhaps? We'll see. It's going to be interesting to see how this works out. I'm sure you've noticed that milder winters are becoming more the norm for our area as I suppose global warming is affecting everything. I say this because the winters used to be much more severe here. I've heard my mother speak of her dad's stories of the winters they used to have with deep snows and ice being the norm. He was born in 1874 and died in 1944 and lived all of his life right here on the plateau, with his boyhood spent on Hinch Mountain and his adult years in Crab Orchard. He said back then that the creeks would freeze over and the snows would linger on the ground for days. They always said that "if a snow hangs around on the ground for a few days, it's waiting on another one." I've paid attention to this and it sure holds true! If the snow doesn't melt off and lingers for one or two days, it will invariably snow another one right on top of it within two or three days! Also, any changes in weather usually come on the changing of the moon phase, either on the full of the moon or on a new moon. This nature weather lore was handed down from generation to generation and was originally learned from the pioneers via the Indians from the earliest times in this country. So it's treasured traditions and very interesting to see how it unfolds and compares with the indicators nature's given us. I had one lady ask me the other day if I was a meteorologist after overhearing my conversation with another lady regarding my weather prediction, to which I had to chuckle. I replied, "No, but I guess you could call me a folklore meteorologist!" which I think my mother would've gotten a kick out of. For those of you new to the area, my mother was Mrs. Helen Lane, who learned the art of nature lore weather predicting from her Dad, Charley Sherrill, and who in turn, passed it on to her children, including myself, and I'm very proud to carry on her tradition. I would like to thank all of my nature watchers for sharing interesting tidbits of observations they've made and look forward to carrying this tradition on, not only with my children, but now my grandchildren, too! So, at any rate, to give a recap of my winter weather prediction, better be prepared! Stock up now for a cold, harsh winter at beginning and end with only three mild snows indicated overall, along with a mild, rainy spell in the middle. However, watch out for that possibility of ice in the harsher elements of the winter! That could spell a humdinger!