I See Signs Of A Hard Winter

Some of the chestnuts that I peeled

@LadyDuck (458794)

Switzerland

October 9, 2016 8:59am CST

You surely know that, according to popular superstition, there are signs of nature to predict a harsh winter ahead. We had a few unexpected cold days and I have noticed some of those signs: - there is an unusual abundance of acorns - the squirrels are not waiting for the nuts to fall on the ground, they climb the trees to pick them - the bees have already retired in their hives Those are common, this one is an Italian popular superstition: - if the inside peels of the chestnusts are hard to peel off the winter will be cold Well, it took forever to peel a pound of chestnuts to make marron glacés, this is not a good sign. Do you know other premonitory signs of a hars winter? The photo is mine

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80 responses

@moffittjc (118521)

• Gainesville, Florida

9 Oct 16

You are the second person in the past few days to mention that the squirrels are climbing the trees to get to the nuts. Interestingly, if you read the Farmer's Almanac (which surprisingly is pretty accurate), it is calling for a colder than normal winter. It does indeed seem that the signs are all around us!

13 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I do not like the idea, but I fear that we are going to have a bad winter. I will store more food, I do not want to be obliged to go out when it snows.

6 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

@moffittjc I would be pleased to send you snow, I hope we are not going to have "a lot".

2 people like this

@moffittjc (118521)

• Gainesville, Florida

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck It's been a long while since we've had a cold winter here in Florida, so I, for one, would welcome a colder than normal winter. Please feel free to send us some of your snow if you want!

2 people like this

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@vandana7 (98908)

• India

9 Oct 16

I have noticed that if the winter is not severe enough there would be shortfall in rains in the following year...may be the nature does warn us, but we have become deaf to nature...so accustomed we are to talking and modern contraptions.

10 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

You are right, we still have a lot to learn observing the nature.

5 people like this

@PalmettoStar (7)

• United States

10 Oct 16

Yes, it certainly feels like a harsh winter is coming. Especially, at night and after a good rain. It's starting to feel niftier and niftier, a great deal. My sinuses usually bothers me the quit often in the colder months, as oppose to the warmer months.

3 people like this

@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

9 Oct 16

The British winters have become milder due to global warming, but they still feel harsher as I get older.

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@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck Maybe you should spend some time in Russia away from the cold.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

Last year I would say that we almost had no winter, but I fear that this year it will be harder. I do not like the cold, many parts of my body ache.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

In Russia away from the cold

? I suppose you are suggesting Siberia for a pleasant vacation.

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@jstory07 (134508)

• Roseburg, Oregon

10 Oct 16

I never heard of any of those signs. Thanks for sharing with us.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

I have learned some new, like the trees heavy with berries. Our holly tree is full of berries, I fear the worst now.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

13 Oct 16

@TheHorse I will, from this afternoon the weather man has announced very heavy rains that should last for several days. We usually have rains in November, it's a bit too early.

@TheHorse (206231)

• Walnut Creek, California

12 Oct 16

@LadyDuck Oh dear. Will you keep us posted?

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@Juliaacv (48508)

• Canada

9 Oct 16

In our area any of the pine trees that are heavy with pine cones or mountain ash trees heavy with berries are signs of a hard winter.

5 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

The holly trees are heavy with berries, I believe we have to fear a cold winter.

3 people like this

@marlina (154165)

• Canada

26 Oct 16

I used to believe that lots of red berries in the mountain ash trees meant a lot of snow, but read to other day that it was only a myth. So not sure anymore.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

26 Oct 16

@marlina I hope it's a myth because the Holly tree is covered with red berries now

@JamesHxstatic (29256)

• Eugene, Oregon

9 Oct 16

I have heard of some of those, but don't recall any more.

7 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I would never want to see winter come. I like autumn, it's not too cold and pleasant.

5 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

@JamesHxstatic Now it's pouring, it has started as a gentle rain, but now it's a lot of rain that it's coming down from the sky.

3 people like this

@JamesHxstatic (29256)

• Eugene, Oregon

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck Yes autumn is lovely here in Oregon too usually.

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@zebra2222 (5269)

• United States

9 Oct 16

I hope that you are wrong. I don't want to see a harsh winter around here.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

Honestly, I hope to be wrong too, I hate the idea to go out and shovel the snow, it's not a sport I like.

@Hatley (163781)

• Garden Grove, California

9 Oct 16

Muy som is almost sixty we came to 'californisa when he was threwe so I have lost all kmowledge of the things they usedd to predict for extra cold winters when I was a kid in the coldeSpost state "South Dakota noiw the coldest it get s here is freezing so its not to bad here in Southern California lol lol lol

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

I know that you do not risk to have a cold winter in Southern California. Switzerland is a cold country and even here in the south we can get a lot of snow.

2 people like this

@SIMPLYD (90722)

• Philippines

10 Oct 16

I hope it will not be that hard my friend , because old people will feel pain on their joints as i have read somewhere else. For the rich , they simply just go to another place where it isn't winter . What about those who can't afford that .

I am glad we have no winter .

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@SIMPLYD (90722)

• Philippines

10 Oct 16

@LadyDuck That's the problem . Once can't easily go out when it's winter .

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

The furnace is on and the house is warm. I do not feel pain in my joints when it's cold, but I cannot say that I like to go outside when the temperature is below zero. I can only hope that we are going to be lucky again.

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@rebelann (111239)

• El Paso, Texas

9 Oct 16

I really do not. There are rarely any signs around here that I would know of to warn me of a harsh winter.

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@rebelann (111239)

• El Paso, Texas

9 Oct 16

I have read about some of your winters @LadyDuck buuuurrrrrr, even your mild winter is too cold for me.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

@rebelann I fear that this winter we will see again temperatures around the 10 F and this is something I hate. The next week I go outside and close all the external sources of water, it can freeze and break the pipes in winter.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I do not believe that you ever get harsh winter in El Paso, this is not our case, unfortunately.

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@Inlemay (17714)

• South Africa

10 Oct 16

well we are heading into a drought if it doesn't rain soon which can be classified as a "hard summer:"

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

We got all the rain during late spring and summer. Yesterday we had enough rain for all the month of October.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

@Inlemay I would be pleased to send the rain to those who need it.

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@Inlemay (17714)

• South Africa

10 Oct 16

@LadyDuck Send me some . . .

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@Morleyhunt (21736)

• Canada

10 Oct 16

Last year we had an over abundance of acorns. The winter was mild....very little snow. This year we have been watching the squirrels prepare in ways we haven't seen in years....I think I will make sure I always have emergency supplies. The worst blizzard our area saw gave little if any warning....children were trapped at school, workers could not get home from work....roads were impassable for days.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

I remember that recently our worse winter have been the 1999 and the 2009, we got a lot of snow. I remember I feared that our car port would have collapsed under the weight of the snow. If the trend is every ten year, we should be safe.

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

@Morleyhunt This is a lot of snow.

We lived in Monte-Carlo in 1977, there is a wonderful weather there, so I cannot say how that winter was, while I remember that in December 2001 we were stuck on a freeway for 8 hours in the middle of a blizzard.

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@Morleyhunt (21736)

• Canada

10 Oct 16

Blizzard of 1977, winter along the lakeshore

@LadyDuck the winter of 1977 produced a historic blizzard in our area. More recently, December of 2001 produced almost 2 meters of snow in the three days before Christmas.... 2014 introduced us to the term Polar Vortex and 20015 gave us huge piles of snow....it was late coming, but forgot to quit once it started.

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@Daljinder (23233)

• Bangalore, India

9 Oct 16

No I don't know about such signs at all. I am curious now if we have any over here.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

It would be interesting to know if you have any superstition about that.

@miniam (9154)

• Bern, Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I have missed winters with real snow in the recent years, so a long hard winter,white and peaceful will be welcome this year.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I cannot say that I like to shovel snow to be able to get out of our pathway. I would prefer another year with no snow.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

@miniam Yes 1999 it has snowed a lot, but also during December 2009 we had plenty of snow. I have photos taken the 22nd of December 2009 in our garden with at least 70 cm. of snow on the lawn.

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@miniam (9154)

• Bern, Switzerland

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck Im not sure which year it was, l think 1999,l shovelled snow from 5 till 12 nonstop.It snowed so heavily that year. I was shovelling,reach the end of the house then start all over again it was so much snow.

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@infatuatedbby (94921)

• United States

9 Oct 16

I have not noticed any. I don't see squirrels in my backyard. This is all new to me. :)

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@infatuatedbby (94921)

• United States

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck I hope it won't be too bad.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

Let's hope that they are wrong, but usually Nature does not lie.

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@hereandthere (45651)

• Philippines

9 Oct 16

i looked up marron glaces (candied chestnuts). we're only familiar with roasted chestnuts here. i've also never seen corn that color and size.

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@hereandthere (45651)

• Philippines

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck oh, so it's non-edible corn?

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

@hereandthere I do not know if it is edible, I think it is, but I only planted a few to decorate the house.

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

Candied chestnuts take a lot of time to make, but they are delicious. I have planted the corn that you see in my photo, it is decorative corn.

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@garymarsh6 (23393)

• United Kingdom

9 Oct 16

They have already forecast a harsh winter here in the UK starting November. They tend to get it wrong most of the time. The biggest faux pas was by a weather man called Michael Fish. A lady rang the BBC to tell him that the barometer was dropping it looked like we were in for a hurricane. He laughed at her prediction. That night we had a devastating hurricane that ripped through the South of England destroying so many things in its way! We usually tell if the holly has a lot of berries on the tree whether it is going to be a bad winter or not. At the moment I do not see that many berrys on my holly tree.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

My holly is loaded of berries

they were green until last week, but now they are all turning red. I do not like snow and I can only hope that everybody and everything are wrong.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

@garymarsh6 I feel sick simply thinking at the snow and even worse the ice that forms under the snow. I am trying to "invent" a way to get rid of the snow without using a shovel. A big blowing heater? Or a hose attached to hot water... not sure, I think that this brings more problems than solutions.

@garymarsh6 (23393)

• United Kingdom

9 Oct 16

@LadyDuck You and me both Anna. I loathe the snow and the rain!

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@cacay1 (83220)

• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines

10 Oct 16

Let us pray that these omens are nit true, that they are just part of circumstances.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

10 Oct 16

Animals and nature know a lot better than we do what's going to happen. I think that the winter will not be as nice as last year.

@NJChicaa (116091)

• United States

9 Oct 16

the only one I know is about the abundance of acorns. Our Farmer's Almanac is calling for an unusually harsh winter. I hope that they are wrong! I truly hate winter.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

9 Oct 16

I also hope they are wrong, but my chestnuts are suggesting it will be harsh.

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@Jeanniemaries (8237)

• United States

15 Oct 16

I am not good at observing signs. I couldn't tell you if the acorn drop is heaver or lighter than last year and I have 25 plus oak trees! I admire those who can tell.

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@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

16 Oct 16

@Jeanniemaries I am not thrilled, the winters are always long here in Switzerland.

@LadyDuck (458794)

• Switzerland

15 Oct 16

According to the British people here, a lot of berries on the trees is a sign of hard winter. I have never seen our holly tree with more berries than this year. I think I should be concerned.

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@Jeanniemaries (8237)

• United States

15 Oct 16

@LadyDuck That sounds like a good sign for an extra long winter too.

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