Seeds say to expect snow

August has melted into September, and I'm still wondering where July went.

Autumn comes next, but I'm afraid if I blink, I'll be standing knee-deep in the snows of winter.

Melting and snow were both on my mind over Labor Day weekend. We had a family cookout, finishing off with a round of s'mores, the chocolate melting against the toasted marshmallows without even putting up a fight.

We happened to see a couple of persimmons, and  couldn't let it rest until the seeds had been cut apart to reveal their winter predictions. Each of them contained the shape of a spoon, signaling plenty of snow on the horizon.

I wish I hadn't looked.

This is Indiana, though, and it is Jackson County, and it will soon be winter. I really don't have to check the inside of a persimmon seed to know there will be more snow and cold than I want this winter.

At www.farmersalmanac.com, a map of our region has the words "frigid, wet, wild, snowy" written across it. The site says this year's Farmers' Almanac publication is predicting below-normal temperature and above-normal snowfall for us.

At www.almanac.com /timeline (on the Web site for The Old Farmer's Almanac, a different publication than that above), I found a chart, complete with photos, as well as quotes from well-known publications. The timeline, A Century of Cycles, begins in 1895 and continues through 2008. Whatever your belief about global warming, it's a thought-provoking display.

The site says the folks at The Old Farmer's Almanac believe that sunspot cycles and their effects on Earth's oceans correlate with climate changes. Is a cooler, not warmer, climate in our future?

I haven't the foggiest notion, but in the meantime, I can just keep scaring myself to death with persimmon seeds.

The day I open one up and find the shape of a snowplow inside, I'm not going to look anymore.

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Persinger is community editor for The Tribune. She may be reached at (812) 523-7063 or jpersinger@tribtown.com.