Living in the Midwest is hard.  We've got beautiful springs, summers, and falls.  But for some reason, our winters hit us hard every year.

I don't necessarily mean "hard" as in brutal temps & tons of snow (not every year at least)...but "hard" as in it's unexpected.  Even though I've lived here my whole life, winter still sneaks up on me as if it was my first time.

Maybe it's denial that I don't dig my show shovel out of the barn until I've got to trudge through 6 inches of snow to get it.  Or maybe I need a new way to predict what kind of winter we're about to have?

Like...using persimmons to predict our weather.

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First Off...What is a Persimmon?

I had never heard of persimmons before hearing about this little trick.  If you are from the south, you probably know they are small orange fruits that originate from Asia and are in season in the fall.  They make jellys & wine with it.

Southernliving.com says "Persimmons are very high in vitamins (like riboflavin, magnesium, and thiamin) and have antioxidant properties."

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How Do Persimmons Predict Weather?

According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, here is what you need to do:

  1. Find a locally grown persimmon. 
  2. Wait to pick the fruit or cut into the fruit until after it gets a bit soft—almost mushy.
  3. Cut open the persimmon and then cut the seed in half.

Then you should see a vision!  The middle of the seed should tell you everything about what kind of winter we're about to have.

  • Spoon-Shape means that you should get a shovel ready because you are in for a pretty snowy winter.
  • Fork-Shaped means you can expect a mild winter with powdery, light snow.
  • Knife-Shaped means that you can expect frigid winds that will “cut” like a blade.
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Bill Stage/Townsquaremedia
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So What Did the Persimmon Predict?

We cut ours open and it didn't have any seeds. (apparently, we got an Asian persimmon, not an American)

So, we are a little unsure of what to expect. Other than a sloppy, sticky mess, of course.  We should've expected a waste of money because no one wanted to eat them after I had my mitts all over them.

If I'm being honest this doesn't really change how we would've proceeded anyway.  Persimmons, Cow Hair, Hornets Nest Height, and Ants Marching, are all horrible ways to predict the future.

If you lean too heavily on these and you end up being wrong you'll feel just like what this persimmon revealed...

A butthole.

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