Have the Wooly Bears begun to move near anybody else, for they are out thick here in MD, AND..., according to what some say if the band of brownish orange is wide..., the winter will be mild. (Wooly Bear caterpillars are fuzzy, and black at either end with a brown band in the middle - for folks wonder what I mean ) WHAT does it mean when many are found with only the head that is black, and the entire rest of the body brown? MUTANTS! Judging from the fact it has gotten pretty cold around here I think they must be confused about the mildness of the winter, unless they only forecast the severity of the snowfall and not the actual temps. OH and anybody else have a mess of stinkbugs walking around their property?

LD

Feelin' yer pain, LD, I've been pretty bored lately myself.

Seriously, I can't say I've really noticed a difference in this year's bug population down here in my part of the Ozarks, but then I can't say for sure that I would.

There are other signs of an early or difficult winter around here that I have noticed, however. We're in near full fall colors, for one. Usually, we're still mostly green. The nights have been colder earlier than usual, too.

And the white men's wood piles are larger than usual.

I do think we might be in for quite a winter, and that your wooly bears must be confused. I'll get out and look around, see if I can't find us a second opinion.

Spot

Hiya LD! Them big brown wooley bear critters have been a real pain up here this fall! Been 5 of'm around and my neighbor a mile down the creek had to shoot one when it charged him a couple of weeks ago. They've gotten into a couple of cabins too and made some real messes.

Oh! Dang, I guess I shoulda read ALL of your post before replying! Wrong Wooly Bears!!

Keep an eye to the ridgeline......'n' don't step on the stinkbugs!

Regards, xfox

the way I understand it is that there are two different catapillars that are moving this time of year. One is the brown n black "wooly bear" n the other is all black from stem to stern(ignore that one). Where the brown is on the body and how wide it is are both suppose to mean something. I think!!! that the closer the brown band is to the head means colder weather earlier in the winter n when it farther back it means later in the winter. The width is supposed to mean how long the cold will last. Now don't go n quote me on this it's just something I heard years back n never paid much attention to. I kind a figure that whatever the weather decides to do I'll have to deal with cause there ain't no way a changing its mind that I heard of yet haw haw haw(sort a like being married!!! whoo hooo!!!)

This is the Fall I remember as a kid. Was a time when hunting season for deer started 21 Oct and we usually had tracking snow the first week or shortly there after,always by Thanksgiving.Great duck hunting this year,if you can keep from freezing to death.We have the big white and black ones this year and some wooly bears,brown and black.Been a strange year all the way around,must be Global Warming.
The geese havnt headed south yet so I figure were ok for awhile longer.Bear started to den up earlier than usual so who know's guess I'll wait till May and have the answer.I look at it this way,what can I do but put up with it??????

I saw a wooly bear today about 1/2 inch of black on both ends but I know VA will have a record bad winter trhis year cause I just moved here from alaska to get away from winter I was there 2 weeks ago and they got snow and I talked to a friend yesterday who said they have had great weather sence I left so if the east coast has a bad winter its my falt!

THANKS! You could've warned us Where in VA are you?? I'm not sure the snow will be bad as I am prepared this year for snow, AND I moved around in my job a bit so I will be working 0600-1400, lots of time for afternoon to evening deer hunts..., which means rain not snow if my karma effects the weather as it has in the past.

LD

oneblanket set a new record here in Maine, 13 Oct we got snow,earliest from the time records were kept.You have anything to do with that!!! to early,another 3 week before deer season starts,work your magic for 31 Oct,my request 4" dry powder,no wind,25 degrees and just a little overcast.Any help would be appreciated.

I live on the NC boarder between interstates 85 and 95 and it is in the 40s here so far my bad weather karma is working