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When I was little, I always looked forward to the time when grandpa would go out and pick persimmons. He would bring them into the kitchen and grandma would turn those funny looking things into wonderfully tasty cookies. Oh how I miss eating grandma's fresh persimmon cookies.

While she made them, she would tell me what kind of winter we would have that year. In amazement of how she knew this things, finally, I asked her how she knew. She then told me that when they gathered persimmons they would get the seed and cut it in half.

It seems that the shape inside the seed gives insight into what the following winter weather will be. Over the years, I have always wondered and every fall I think back to those childhood days and grandma's persimmon cookies.

Shapes inside the persimmon seed:

According to old timers, you can tell what the winter will be like by cutting a persimmon seed open. I would suggest cutting a few open to make sure they are all the same before assuming what the weather may be like.

What do the shapes mean?

Knife: If the shape inside the seed is that of a knife, it is believed to mean the winter will be cutting cold. As my grandma would say: So cold the wind feels like its cutting right through you like a knife.

Spoon: When the shape inside the seed looks like a spoon it is said to mean it will be a heavy winter. The spoon represents lots of shoveling.

Fork: The appearance of a fork shape within the seed is believed to mean that winter will be easy with only a light dusty of snow.

After the ice storm and severe weather we had locally last year, most of the people I know are hoping for an easy winter. What does the persimmon seed have to say about this?

Tonight, they discussed the persimmon legend on the local news. They cut many seeds open right there on the broadcast. All seeds revealed a spoon. What does that mean for the winter weather this year? Well if grandma were here, she would say the spoon in the seed would mean that we are in for a heavy winter. As I previously stated according to the old-timers the spoon represents lost of snow shoveling.

Will the persimmon seed be correct this year? Are we in for another hard winter? Only time will tell. I will be watching to see as I have always wondered. Does the persimmon seed really know what our winter will be like?

I am curious to see if the persimmon seed gets it right this year. Eventually I plan to have a persimmon tree of my own. Then I can make those yummy persimmon cookies just like grandma used to make and I can have fun checking to see what the persimmon seed predicts for the upcoming winter each year.

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