b'Trails Reportthe bumper crop and the extra fat onthat roof on the first warm, sunny day the animals coincide with one another.in the spring!Not to be cynical, but I am bettingGoldenrod does naturally bloom its the bumper crop of food caused thebright yellow plumage in the fall, skunks, deer, and other animals to eatand this naturally means winter is like we all did while the COVID stay- around the corner. Although the facts at-home order was in effect, creatingor backstory on this little piece of more fat on their bodies. Soundweatherlore is in short supply, my bet familiar? is that the myth morphed over time as From food to insects our nextit was passed down from generation to weatherlore involves the infamousgeneration. It originally was said that Woolly Bear caterpillar. They are thoseonce the goldenrod blooms frost is only beautiful brown and black fuzzballsfour to six weeks away, but as story that love to curl up in your hand as ourtellers do, they alter the folklore a little kids (or Elmyra) poke at and pick themover time, and like the telephone game up to enjoy as a temporary pet, that iswhen we are kids, the wording and until the inevitable occurs.The Woollycontext is changed as the tale is passed Bear (Hedgehog Caterpillar) is typicallyalong. The next time you are out in black on both ends with brown in thethe fall, working on a trail or installing middle. Local folklore has it that thePhil a run for his money whensome signs, be sure to pay attention to longer the black fur on each end thepredicting the weather ahead.Thisthe goldenrod, not only for the spiders longer, colder, snowier, and severe thepiece of Vermont weatherlore is not asthat may crawl off from it onto you, upcoming winter will be. Going onecommon as some of the others, but it isbut also for its height, to allow you non-scientific step farther, some oldinteresting to say the least.to install enough sign stake to keep timers say that if the head has moreI was talking one day to a NEK logger,the sign above the snow in the winter of the black, the beginning or headwoodsman, sugar maker, a true saltahead!of the winter will be the more severe.of the earth man whose handshake atWhen talking about goldenrod one If the butt (not the scientific word but80 was stronger than mine in my 20scannot help but mention the wasps that I am a Trails Administrator and notand was enlightened on this piece offrequent it for its delicious nectar. This a scientist. scientific communityVermont weatherlore he shared withis likely why the garden spiders love breathes a sigh of relief) of theme. My father and I had stopped tothe goldenrod, a provider of a never-caterpillar or tail end has more blackvisit with him and seek permissionending wasp buffet. Who says I am hair, it means the end of the winter isto moose hunt on his land. As wenot a scientist! This piece of Vermont going to be the toughest.parted ways from his front porch, heweatherlore is not as much about the If we really want to get into the weedsnoted to me, Goldenrods 4 high thiswasps but more about their nests.on this, the Woolly Bear also has 13year, going to be a doozy of a winter! Whose heard this one before? As the segments in its body, said by someWhile talking he gestured towards asaying goes, if you see a wasp nest low to represent the 13 weeks of winter. Igoldenrod plant popping up near histo the ground you can expect a mild am not sure why VAST has a 16-weekporch steps.Seeing me look at himwinter, high up in the air means lots season outlined in our groomingwith a puzzled manner, he felt the needof snow. Oddly enough there is even contracts, but maybe we should lobbyto explain to me, Goldenrod heighta little rhyme that goes along with for a change to only a 13-week seasontells you how deep the snows going tothis myth. I read about this in The Old based on the genetic makeup of thebe this winter. Fascinated, I looked atFarmers Almanac: See how high the Woolly Bear caterpillar. I will talkthe Golden Rod and then at his porchhornets nest, twill tell how high the to the Trails Committee about thisroof, which had a valley running rightsnow will rest.and get back to you. After all, this isdown to where the tall goldenrod wasIf you see a hornets nest in the eaves scientific!(Do not start sending me agrowing. I again looked at him andof your dormer or somewhere like text, that was a joke-although probablythen back at the goldenrod, and thenthat, immediately book a plane ticket pretty accurate based on the past fewback at him and commented, Thatsto somewhere tropical or invest in a winters.) not a fair observation. That goldenrodlong-track sled depending upon your When you are measuring the black hairis growing right were all the snowpreference. If you are reading this on the Woolly Bear caterpillar do notslides off your roof from that valley. magazine, I am going to assume you forget to look around for goldenrod. We all had a good laugh and partedwill do the latter of the two. Despite the Despite the beauty of the goldenrodways, but I have never forgotten thaturge, do not take a tape measure and and the wonderful garden spiderspiece of Vermont weatherlore, and willstart waving it around while measuring it harbors, goldenrod has anothernot discount its validity. We never didhow high the wasp nest is from the important use as well, and no, I amcatch up with a moose on his land, andground! Results may vary.not referring to its medicinal uses as aI dont recall if the snow was 4 deepOne of my all-time favorite pieces of diuretic. It gives even Punxsutawneythat winter or not, but I bet it was atVermont weatherlore, and frankly one least that deep when the snow slid off'