11 Signs Missouri Might Have A Harsh Winter

I have a Farmer's Almanac, my Dad gave it to me.I think we even have a Station copy, somewhere.  Well, I was looking through it the other day when I saw a bunch of stuff about predicting whether or not you'll have a harsh, snowy winter.  I decided to read it and see if anything in it might look like something that happened to us this past year.
Here are the signs of a hard winter to come, according to folklore:

1. Thicker-than-normal corn husks.

I have no idea if this is true.  We haven't been eating corn for a while, because Husbando can't eat it due to.... a condition he has that I know I should know the name of, but I do not.

2. Woodpeckers sharing a tree.

I haven't seen any woodpeckers in town.  Aren't they more likely to be out in the county?

3. The early migration of the monarch butterfly.

I just saw a Monarch the other day, so I don't think this one applies.  He didn't seem to be going anywhere.

4. Thick hair on the nape of a cow’s neck.

............I don't know any cows?  And would I even know if his hair was thicker than normal?  Seems like an invasion of privacy to me.

5. Raccoons with thick tails and bright bands.

If raccoons are around town, I haven't seen them.  And I'm out early, at like, four am. So theoretically if they were out, I would see them, right?  Well, they are smart little buggers. I bet they hide from me pretty well.

6. Mice chewing furiously to get into your home.

We did have a mouse earlier! Figgy caught it, but still. I hope there aren't more.  I don't want to think about mice literally chewing into my house.

7. Spiders spinning larger-than-usual webs and entering the house in great numbers.

I saw this in the back of the radio station a couple of times this year.  Biiiiiig webs, very elaborate.  And there was one on my back porch that went from the top of my roof all the way to the bottom of the grill.  Very ambitious.

8. Pigs gathering sticks.

Uh, again, I know no pigs. I don't even know if I know anybody that owns pigs.

9. Ants marching in a line rather than meandering.

I've seen some ants on my porch and out on the sidewalk, they were pretty much meandering.  Might be safe on that one.

10.  Unusual abundance of acorns.

I can't tell on this one.  I have two huge oak trees out in front of my house, so we always, always have a ton of acorns. I've talked about this before.

11. Squirrels gathering nuts early to fortify against a hard winter.

I see squirrels literally every day.  Even in the winter I see them all the time. So I don't know if I notice them gathering up more acorns than normal. All I know is that they get mad and chirp at random things all the time.

Do you put a lot of stock into things like this?  Do you think they're accurate?  What are some of the signs you heard growing up about weather?

Winterly yours,
Behka