Saturday, November 5, 2011

Persimmon Seed Winter Weather Forecast

I’m not sure why I had never heard this until now. According to folklore, a persimmon seed can predict the weather for the winter. Of course, you need one that is grown locally to supposedly get an accurate assessment of the winter for your neck of the woods.   A ripe seed works best.

The first I heard of this was in September when our homeschooling group visited Parker Pioneer Homestead which I blogged about here. At one of the stations, the lady showed us how when a persimmon seed is cut, there will either be an image of a spoon, a fork, or a knife. I was amazed at the clarity of the image! It was a tiny spoon just as clear as day! She also told us that it was almost always accurate.

Here’s what they mean:

Image from www.hoosierweather.com  Source: http://www.hoosierweather.com/weather_lore.php

If the kernel is spoon shaped, you will have lots of heavy snow. Think about shoveling snow. Spoon is equal to shovel.

If the kernel is fork shaped, expect a lighter powdery snow, thus a milder winter.

And if the kernel is knife shaped, you will be “cut” by cold icy winds….more ice than snow, bitterly cold.

Then just the other day, my daddy brought one home to show to Joy and Luke, not knowing that we had already seen it. This persimmon was taken from another area, but still fairly local to us. It was the same – spoon.



See it?

My dad also said that Texas is supposedly getting some knives. Therefore, according to the persimmon forecast, Texas might expect a little more ice and icy winds. 

According to Farmer’s Almanac and the persimmon seeds so far, for most of the US and Canada, it is mostly spoons, with a lower percentage of knives. Either way that’s not supposed to be a mild winter. So, I guess you better get your snow shovels ready!

I guess we shall see if the folklore predictions are true. If you haven’t seen this, check it out! It is really cool! (No pun intended). :)

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Please come back on Monday and check out the fundraising auction that will run through Thursday for the Bryant family waiting to bring home their beautiful 8 year old daughter, Leiney Grace, from China!

Have a great weekend!

15 comments:

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

Mama,

Isn't that so neat?? And like you said, the clarity of the image is amazing--yet another part of God's handiwork that amazes me!

I can't wait to see how the auction turns out!

Great post! I love you! 8!

God bless you!
Love,
Joy :D

Unknown said...

How neat!

But I must be honest...
I hope it is wrong.
LOL!!
I really want a mild winter. ;)
Not in the mood for cold and ice.
Heehee!
Hugs,
Tam

Bittersweet and Ivy said...

I have never heard of that before! Thanks for sharing with us!

Although, I am with Tammy.... I would love a mild winter! :-)

Laura

Wendi said...

I haven't seen one this year, but I am hearing that spoons are being found around here. I love to see the snow falling, but an not looking forward to shoveling!

Robyn ♥ said...

That is truly amazing! TFS!

Patty Sumner said...

Wow, how interesting. I guess it sounds as if we are all going to get SNOW! Snow boots for sure. Blessings and thanks for sharing.

Mandie said...

How wonderfully interesting! I love to read about folklore and really believe there is truth to it. Around here we look at the black fuzzy worm. If they are big and fuzzy it is going to be a cold winter. If they are just fuzzy it will be mild. Love it :-). Hope you are having a great weekend!

Lois Christensen said...

That is amazing!!! I have never heard of this before. Would love to try this here, but I don't think they grow persimmons in PA. Hope you had a great Sunday!

Football and Fried Rice said...

Who knew?! Well, God of course! What a little gift He left to be discovered!

Football and Fried Rice said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tanya said...

Hi sweet friend,
Oh good grief...I'm 52 years old and have NEVER heard the persimmon story! I'm amazed...how absolutely unique is that...but not to God...he can do all things...
I'm going to show it to my kids at school for fun!
Hope you had a great weekend...we had a busy one...
Haley got to try on some bride dresses for fun. NO plans yet.
Can't wait to visit your fundraiser this week.
We have been having gorgeous weather but supposed to get rain for a few days.
Hugs,
Tanya

Karen said...

This is SO interesting! I had never heard this before. We have a persimmon tree not too far from us--maybe we will see if we can find one, and see what it predicts for our winter!! Very fun :)

Hollie said...

Very interesting! I've never heard this either! tHANK YOU FOR SHARING!

JoAnn SweetPepperRose said...

Tammy, my husband, Ted, thought this was just too cool. Now, out of all his country relatives, he had never heard of this tid-bit of info.Of course he went out to the "bearing" persimmon bush on our property but our pet cow eats what falls on the ground ;) Thanks for sharing!

heath said...

Cut one open already this year and it was a spoon