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It's Garbage Day!
33.4 degrees F. / 0.7 C.
Crisp and clear.
33.4 degrees F. / 0.7 C.
Crisp and clear.
WKTV's forecast: "A sunny start to Thursday but expect an increase in clouds by the afternoon as a weak storm system begins to approach the region. Rain looks to hold off until after sunset, with the steadiest rain occurring overnight Thursday into Friday. Thursday's temperatures will once again be above normal, with highs in the mid 50s. Rain continues for Friday morning but improving conditions by the afternoon under mostly cloudy skies with a few peeks of sun.
As slightly cooler weather wraps around our next storm system, we'll see a weak response from Lake Ontario. Mostly cloudy on Saturday, with a few lake effect rain showers. High pressure quickly builds in by Saturday afternoon, drying us out. A slow return to sunshine is expected by Sunday."
The Blogger wonders if anyone has seen any "woolly-bear" caterpillars and can make a winter weather prognostication based on its black and brown stripes?
In the fall of 1948, Dr. C. H. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, took his wife 40 miles north of the city to Bear Mountain State Park to look at woolly bear caterpillars.
Dr. Curran collected as many caterpillars as he could in a day, determined the average number of reddish-brown segments, and forecast the coming winter weather through a reporter friend at The New York Herald Tribune.
Dr. Curran's experiment, which he continued over the next eight years, attempted to prove scientifically a weather rule of thumb that was as old as the hills around Bear Mountain. The resulting publicity made the woolly bear the most recognizable caterpillar in North America.
Between 1948 and 1956, Dr. Curran's average brown-segment counts ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a third of the woolly bear's body. As those relatively high numbers suggested, the corresponding winters were milder than average.
But Curran was under no scientific illusion: He knew that his data samples were small. Although the experiments popularized and, to some people, legitimized folklore, they were simply an excuse for having fun. Curran, his wife, and their group of friends escaped the city to see the foliage each fall, calling themselves The Original Society of the Friends of the Woolly Bear.
Thirty years after the last meeting of Curran's society, the woolly bear brown-segment counts and winter forecasts were resurrected by the nature museum at Bear Mountain State Park. The annual counts have continued, more or less tongue in cheek, since then.
For the past 10 years, Banner Elk, North Carolina, has held an annual "Woolly Worm Festival" each October, highlighted by a caterpillar race. Retired mayor Charles Von Canon inspects the champion woolly bear and announces his winter forecast.
Most scientists discount the folklore of woolly bear predictions as just that, folklore. Says Ferguson from his office in Washington, "I've never taken the notion very seriously. You'd have to look at an awful lot of caterpillars in one place over a great many years in order to say there's something to it."
How the Woolly Bear Became "Famous"
In the fall of 1948, Dr. C. H. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, took his wife 40 miles north of the city to Bear Mountain State Park to look at woolly bear caterpillars.
Dr. Curran collected as many caterpillars as he could in a day, determined the average number of reddish-brown segments, and forecast the coming winter weather through a reporter friend at The New York Herald Tribune.
Dr. Curran's experiment, which he continued over the next eight years, attempted to prove scientifically a weather rule of thumb that was as old as the hills around Bear Mountain. The resulting publicity made the woolly bear the most recognizable caterpillar in North America.
Do Woolly Bear Caterpillars Forecast Winter Weather?
According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is (i.e., the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter. But is it true?Between 1948 and 1956, Dr. Curran's average brown-segment counts ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a third of the woolly bear's body. As those relatively high numbers suggested, the corresponding winters were milder than average.
But Curran was under no scientific illusion: He knew that his data samples were small. Although the experiments popularized and, to some people, legitimized folklore, they were simply an excuse for having fun. Curran, his wife, and their group of friends escaped the city to see the foliage each fall, calling themselves The Original Society of the Friends of the Woolly Bear.
Thirty years after the last meeting of Curran's society, the woolly bear brown-segment counts and winter forecasts were resurrected by the nature museum at Bear Mountain State Park. The annual counts have continued, more or less tongue in cheek, since then.
For the past 10 years, Banner Elk, North Carolina, has held an annual "Woolly Worm Festival" each October, highlighted by a caterpillar race. Retired mayor Charles Von Canon inspects the champion woolly bear and announces his winter forecast.
Most scientists discount the folklore of woolly bear predictions as just that, folklore. Says Ferguson from his office in Washington, "I've never taken the notion very seriously. You'd have to look at an awful lot of caterpillars in one place over a great many years in order to say there's something to it."
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FROM THE O-D
FROM THE O-D
"Oriskany Falls Man Dies in Hunting Accident."
"Polka Band Leader Remembered for Humility."
"White's Farm Supply Driven by Attention to Customer's Needs."
***************************************
"The DEC's Map and Dates of Regular and Bowhunting Deer Season."
REGULAR DEER HUNTING SEASON STARTS SATURDAY
******
2006 photo
AN ANNUAL TREAT!
HUNTING FOR GOODIES
at the
WOMEN'S CLUB BAKE SALE
starts at 9:00
SATURDAY MORNING AT FOODKING!
*******************************
Autumn view on Paris Hill
In the Park, stone mason Ray Drake hoists 7' long, 250-pound slabs of blue stone ......
.......... onto the front steps of the Bandstand.
********
Masonry work continues at St. Bernard's Church and also on the west wall of the Opera House where a great many bricks have been replaced and the super-sized lift is still in place.
ELSEWHERE
Santa sails through the air on Putnam Street!
*****
You can sail, too!
Come and watch
"Up!"
Family movie night at the
Waterville Public Library
FREE MOVIE at 6:00
FREE POPCORN!
LOOKING BACK
11/19/2006
11/19/2007
11/19/2007
11/19/2008
11/19/2008
*****************************
ON SUNDAY IN CLINTON
at the Kirkland Art Center.
Opening reception for exhibit of works influenced by
W. Ralph Murray
3 to 5 p.m. Event includes dedication of lower studio as
the W. Ralph Murray studio, 4:30 p.m.
********************************
Have a good Weekend, Everyone!
"Polka Band Leader Remembered for Humility."
"White's Farm Supply Driven by Attention to Customer's Needs."
***************************************
"The DEC's Map and Dates of Regular and Bowhunting Deer Season."
REGULAR DEER HUNTING SEASON STARTS SATURDAY
******
2006 photoAN ANNUAL TREAT!
HUNTING FOR GOODIES
at the
WOMEN'S CLUB BAKE SALE
starts at 9:00
SATURDAY MORNING AT FOODKING!
*******************************
Autumn view on Paris Hill
In the Park, stone mason Ray Drake hoists 7' long, 250-pound slabs of blue stone ......
.......... onto the front steps of the Bandstand.
********
Masonry work continues at St. Bernard's Church and also on the west wall of the Opera House where a great many bricks have been replaced and the super-sized lift is still in place.
ELSEWHERE
Santa sails through the air on Putnam Street!
*****
You can sail, too!
Come and watch
"Up!"
Family movie night at the
Waterville Public Library
FREE MOVIE at 6:00
FREE POPCORN!
LOOKING BACK
11/19/2006
11/19/2007
11/19/2007
11/19/2008
11/19/2008*****************************
ON SUNDAY IN CLINTON
at the Kirkland Art Center.
Opening reception for exhibit of works influenced by
W. Ralph Murray
3 to 5 p.m. Event includes dedication of lower studio as
the W. Ralph Murray studio, 4:30 p.m.
********************************
I'm going to be taking a week off following Thanksgiving to do lots of artist-type stuff, so ........ if there are any events or occasions that you'd like to have posted on the blog, please let me know about them BEFORE next Wednesday, November 25th. Thank You!
Have a good Weekend, Everyone!
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