When I was taking a walk near the Missouri River the other
day, I managed to witness a moment when the sunlight revealed itself but for a
few minutes in an otherwise cloudy day. Fortunately, I had my camera and
managed to get a few shots.
During my walk, I overheard one homeowner say to another that the number of acorns has been
unusually heavy this year and that the squirrels have been busy gathering both acorns
and walnuts. She didn’t attach significance to these things, but a large crop
of acorns and the squirrels collecting unusually large amounts of nuts point
toward a long and severe winter, I’ve discovered. One of our local weather prognosticators
says that the pattern of winter weather has started to set up and will continue
to set up through November. The severity of the winter, he says, won’t be fully
visible until the pattern repeats itself, starting in December. We’ll have to
see.
