How high is your hornet's nest?

Posted Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 7:19 PM

You learn something new every day.

Tuesday night at the Worthington Town Council meeting (always interesting, or on some nights, entertaining would be the better word) I heard about a way to predict the weather that I hadn't heard before.

The higher the hornet's nest, the deeper the snow.

My grandpa Clovis had a huge hornet's nest that hung in the rafters of the Model Garage for many years. It was just there. Don't think I ever heard how it got there.

Anyway, the guys were talking about hornet's nests before the meeting.

David said three had been found within a block.

Then Gregg wanted to know how far off the ground they were.

The answer was about 12 feet.

Gregg said that was low and maybe that means there won't be much snow this winter.

He said, haven't you ever heard, the higher the hornet's nest, the deeper the snow?

Turns out the definition of what's high for a hornet's nest depends on who you talk to.

Here in the office, Timberly said she heard the hornet's nests are high this year.

But then Teana said her neighbor has one that's only three or four feet off the ground -- that doesn't sound high to me.

Then the talk turned to other ways of predicting winter weather.

Rick said the woolly worms are really black this fall.

And Chris said he heard the persimmons were showing spoons which means we'll be shoveling lots of snow.

I thought I'd heard some weatherman predict lots of snow this year. They were probably looking at data using a computer... don't you wonder if maybe, when nobody's around, weatherpeople are sneaking out to the woods to check a persimmon, look at a worm and search for a hornet's nest before they make those predictions?

What other old weather sayings have you heard from the old folks in Greene County?

Will it be a cold winter, a wet winter, or a snowy winter... What say you?

And tell me, are those hornet's nests high, or are they low?

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I heard on News 10 the other night that we will be getting more ice and less snow this year. But who really knows for sure?

-- Posted by SMC on Tue, Nov 24, 2009, at 4:40 PM

While deer hunting I spotted a nest that was about 30' off the ground!

-- Posted by avenger on Thu, Nov 19, 2009, at 1:15 AM

The squirrels seem furrier than usual this year. Does that mean anything?

-- Posted by doreen on Tue, Nov 17, 2009, at 9:21 AM

From way up in the northern part of Highland Township, Wade McIntosh wrote in and reported the woolly worms are brown and the corn is coming out of the shuck very easily. He also said his son, Bill, was out in the field and combined a hornet's nest in the soybeans that was just three feet from the ground! That's two nests I've heard of that were three feet from the ground... maybe all the snow is going to blow and drift over to notgreenenative's place and spare the rest of us. Wade's thinking the cool summer means we're going to have a warm winter. He also says this year's woolly worms, and the corn, point to a mild winter. And the hornet's nest in the beans = not much snow. Sounds good to me!

-- Posted by indianarose on Mon, Nov 16, 2009, at 7:36 AM

Wooly worms in my neighborhood are equally colored. Just like politicians they're sending mixed signals.

-- Posted by Mr. F on Sun, Nov 15, 2009, at 8:27 AM

I think it will be a long winter, as they all are.

-- Posted by simmons on Fri, Nov 13, 2009, at 5:32 AM