Folks:

Just thought that I would drop this in before I leave. Our plague of frogs is not usual. I can add more to the local legends but I wanted you response to the first part. I will be in the mountains.

Now one of the things that you look for is signs. This has a scientific meaning which I won’t go into. Here it is so damn wet that I have had to capture and release two frogs from the kitchen. The ones with little suckers on their feet are stuck to the windows.

The fussy tailed rats [the gray ones] are developing a reddish overcoat. They only do this before a bad winter. The fox squinks are getting a dark overcoat; same. We have eagles and ospreys coming in August. Turkeys are very active. Great fun.

Question is; ( I could go on) do you think that these folk legends carry any validity.

Just wondered;

Z

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2001

Answers

Don't forget the wooly caterpillar.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2001

or the wooly bully.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2001

Z,

Your furry and chitinous friends are mistaken. Global Warming will ensure a pleasant winter. :)

By the way ... some folks are already advancing the theory that Global Warming will cause an increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes. They point to Dr. Gray's latest estimates (which are higher) for proof. They ignore the fact that, as Gray states, these things are cyclical ...

The only ACCURATE forecase of future weather is to count the number of fleas on your pet, subtract the eth root of 2, and calculate a percentage based on the number of light bulbs you have purchased in the previous 2-1/2 months.

This, however, is a very painstaking process.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

A mild El Nino would be nice. Really greens things up in SoCal.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

An abnormally high number of butterfly-wing flappings in Thailand.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001