Believe in Weather Folklore?

mezz

mezz

Well-known member
I am not a BIG believer in weather lore, but it is fun to toy with when you are in high hopes of a Winter of Plenty. There are a number of local lore about what one might observe as an indication as to what the coming winter might be like, such as the amount of acorns on the oaks, amount of apples on trees, flocking of birds, chipmunks gathering of food etc.... I have also heard of the height of Wasp nests as being an indicator, well, if that is the case, then we just might be in for a real doooozy, check out what I discovered about 25' up in a tree in my back yard in the pics below.:eek::cool:-Mezz

In the first pic, look just about dead-center, this will give you an idea of the height....
 

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ubee

New member
a quote from the boss !! (I have noticed that every time I am walking in the woods and come to a spot that has a ton of acorns on the ground, I am standing under an oak tree! )
 
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m8man

Moderator
Wow, it'd kind of be a bugger to hit it with a bat and then run hey?

I got it, maybe I could KLIM the tree and whack it!

I be hoping you is right.

m8man
 
C

Cat Woman

New member
Wow! I've never seen anything like that! Is that bigger than usual or are they all that big? All I see around here is the honeycomb type nest.
 
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jerkbait_1075

New member
Ouch, this gives me flash backs.

Short story I had a wasp nest in a maple tree in the back yard all summer long. Observed it all summer long every time I was mowing the yard, never saw one wasp. Assuming it was abandoned, but choosing to play it safe I decided to just "let it hang" until winter time and I was then going to remove it and add to my outdoor collection decor in my basement bar room. Well low and behold one night while walking the yard enjoying a cold beer scoping up dog S#$T I got attacked. Before I knew it I was stung numerous times on the arms and back. I ran from the area like a "little school girl". I was the craziest thing I had ever seen. That section of my backyard looked like it was covered in a fog of wasp, there were hundreds of them swarming in the air. After researching the subject on online I since it was already early evening I waited until the returned to the hive for the night. I then suited up rubber boots, carharts, snowmobile helmet and a scarf around my neck and went in for the "kill". Two cans of spray I was able to kill a vast majority of them by soaking the nest and hitting those that left in the air. I then cut the nest down after sliding it into a old pillow case and then quickly duck taped the top closed.

Wow!!! What scares me the most is the fact that the very tree the nest was in is right next to my kids playground set. At age 6 and 8 my little girls could have been in big trouble should the wasp have choosen to attack them instead of me.

Moral of the story. I will never assume one of those things are empty again. I will suit up and it will be removed immediately....
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
Cat, most are big, but this one is exceptionally BIG. It also depends on the type of wasp. Jerkbait, your story was funny, but I know too well what you experienced, been there, done that. My problem with wasp's or bee stings, I sorta get a reaction, not life threatning, but, I swell up like a friggin balloon. This thing wasn't visible to me all summer. It was well hidden in the canopy of leaves surrounding it, when the leaves fell, there she be.... Now, I'm not sure how to eliminate it, it's too high to reach unless you have a bucket lift. I thought for sure the winds we had yesterday may have shaken it off, but no go. It appears to be empty now, maybe break out the 22 & shoot the branch it hangs on, then run like ****, or like a little school girl, just to be safe!LOL...:eek:-Mezz
 
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jerkbait_1075

New member
Mezz,

I understand the seriousness of these bites. Maybe I had a bit of a reaction myself. Just so happens this happened right before my weekend to work. On Friday while at work my arm was just swollen about the size of golf balls every where I was stung. They we really red and hot to the touch. By Saturday the guys on my shift were starting to place bets on when my forearm would "actually EXPLODE" as my arm had swollen so big the skin looked like a balloon ready to pop!!! It really wasnt as painfull as it looked. On Sunday still the same swelling wise then the itching started and for the next 3-4 days that was the worst of all was the itching. Boy did the ones on my back get miserable once they started itching and not being able to reach them!!!! To bad we didnt live closer I would be happy to help you out with the bucket truck thing just so happens my father in law owns a commercial electrical business and has just that type of equipment. Which reminds me getting to be that time of year to think about borrowing it to but up the old christmas lights on the house!!!! Neighbors laugh at me every year... Sure beats the ladder
 
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Brad8888

New member
We have been seeing many instances of completely black wooly worms here in central Indiana where I live. From what I was "taught" a long time ago, that means the entire winter will be cold here.

I would hope that means an active polar jet that wavers back and forth just west of the Midwest to pull in the consistent cold, and the subpolar jet between the Ohio river and lower Michigan with storms large enough to pull Gulf moisture into the Northwoods sometimes without the pesky rains, and deep enough low pressure systems to become cut off lows that sit just to the east of the region to produce sustained winds from the north and west across the lakes, but who knows?

If so, the lake effect machines should hopefully have mezz and others saying "HERE BLEEZARD, BLEEZARD!!!!" frequently, as long as the lakes remain open. :D

Fun to think about!!!!! :D
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
If you ever get tagged again, make a paste out of baking soda & apply to bite(s), if you don't have that, make a mud paste, it works to dry & draw out the little beasts venom. I was re-thinking about the bucket thing, I don't know if that would be such a great idea if that nest were still active. I don't know if you could move that thing fast enough if it were. I think would rather be on the ground, it would suck to be stuck 25' in the air with these vicious bastages nailing you over & over. Sorta LOL! I do like the idea with the Christmas lights though, lucky dog.-Mezz
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
Brad8888 said:
We have been seeing many instances of completely black wooly worms here in central Indiana where I live. From what I was "taught" a long time ago, that means the entire winter will be cold here.

I would hope that means an active polar jet that wavers back and forth just west of the Midwest to pull in the consistent cold, and the subpolar jet between the Ohio river and lower Michigan with storms large enough to pull Gulf moisture into the Northwoods sometimes without the pesky rains, and deep enough low pressure systems to become cut off lows that sit just to the east of the region to produce sustained winds from the north and west across the lakes, but who knows?

If so, the lake effect machines should hopefully have mezz and others saying "HERE BLEEZARD, BLEEZARD!!!!" frequently, as long as the lakes remain open. :D

Fun to think about!!!!! :D
Click to expand...

Brad, Holy Crap! beginning to sound like a meteorologist, LOL! I have a feeling Meester Bleezard will be visiting the Mid-West regularly this winter, especially the Northwoods!-Mezz
 
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Bradzoo

Active member
Found a hornets nest like that one year when I was up north deer hunting I was a freshman in high school I think, anyway took it back to science class the week of Thanksgiving and the teacher put it in the Lab room over the holiday, when we came back that monday there were hornets all through the school, they had to send all the kids home and call the exterminator. My one great moment in school everyone got an extended holiday.
 
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