of Woolly Bears and “Honkers” and catching young robins……

Fall is in the air......

The breeze is quite strong and there is a hint of snow in the air. Some trees are brilliant shades of orange and red while others have yet to blush and disrobe to barren nakedness. Fall is here, the Woolly Bear caterpillars are finding shelter and the Canadian Geese are starting to flock for their migration south. Their constant honking as they flock brings back memories of my childhood.

I was about 5 years old when I learned about Woolly Bears and “Honkers”. We lived in a huge house (perhaps not huge but remember, I was very little) on Lake Okauchee in the Oconomowoc area.

My father had an answer for just about everything. He knew everything there was to know in the whole world; he even knew how to catch a robin. He told me that if I sprinkled salt on their tail feathers they would not fly away and I could catch them.

Of course, my father would never tell me a lie – I still believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

One day in early summer I saw a young robin under one of the pine trees. Quick as a flash I ran into the house and got the salt shaker off the kitchen stove. I followed that young robin around the yard until I cornered him near the house where I was able to get close enough to sprinkle the salt on his tale. That was all it took for the terrified young bird to make his escape. Hopping away and flying a few feet at a time, he was finally able to find safety in the neighbor’s yard.

When Dad got home from work that afternoon he was greeted by a sobbing young 5 year old who had his entire belief system shattered by a young robin.

Dad quickly took care of everything. He sat me on his lap and explained that it takes a lot of salt. I admitted that I was barely able to sprinkle the salt before the bird outdistanced me. He told me that I probably just did not get enough salt on the bird’s tail. With that, my belief system was restored.

Gee…. isn’t it amazing how fathers can fix things like that with a hug and a kind word?

But I digress….

I was always curious why Canada Geese honked when they were in flight. Dad explained it as only a father could. He told me that flying is hard work for the geese. He explained that when I ran around the yard chasing my brother I would start breathing hard. To get enough air, I would breathe through my mouth rather than my nose. It’s the same with geese. They breathe through their mouths to get enough air. When they are in flight with their mouths wide open, they often get too much air. This fills them up like a balloon and when they get too full of air, they have to burp. Dad told me that a goose burp sounded much different than when I burped. That’s what we would hear when the geese flew over the house. The Geese were burping……. This made complete sense to a 5 year old.

Dad must have had a good chuckle at that one. He did not, however, count on taken so seriously. That very day my brother and I started practicing to see who could fabricate a high pitched burp that would sound like a goose.

Mom was the one who taught us about woolly bears and how they predict the severity of the coming winter. The wider the orange stripe in the middle, the milder the winter. Mom considered The Farmer’s Almanac to be the final authority on things like that.

So this morning I found a Woolly Bear with a very wide band. It is going to be a mild winter. The geese are burping as they fly over the house…… All is well……….