Are the persimmon seeds telling the truth?

I have put off reporting on my persimmon seed-reading, because I didn't believe it.
Take a look at the photo at right. The seeds you can actually see to read all are spoons and knives.

I don't trust the seeds any more.

They lied to me for the last couple of years. They were like this year's reading, but the last two winters here were mild. Especially last winter. It was so mild that the municipal utility company's kilowatt-hour sales were down.

Nobody says it is going to be a cold, snowy winter this year, except for my seeds. And everyone else's. Plus the few people I've talked to who have seen woolyworms, or woolybears, say the caterpillars are solid black, no banding, so around here, we read that as a rough winter ahead.

But The Old Farmer's Almanac says it will be a mild winter.

"Winter will be milder than normal, with above-normal precipitation and snowfall. The coldest periods will be from late November into early December, from late December into early January, and in early February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-November, early to mid- and late December, and early February," is what The Old Farmer's Almanac says on Page 229 of the 2018 edition, which I bought last month. I buy it every year, and have for as long as I remember, because that is the almanac Grandpa always bought.

Well, The Old Farmer's Almanac was off this year, for sure. It has been even milder than they predicted, Late November into early December was moderate or warm. Some days I didn't wear a coat or sweater to work, and I get up and arrive before dawn. We got no snow in mid-November, and none in early or mid-December. Here it is in late December, and we finally got the first one of the season.

That is why I opened the seeds, took their picture and then laid them aside. I didn't trust them enough to share them with you, my readers throughout the Heartland and across this great nation.

But now, given recent events, I'm a little concerned. If The Old Farmer's Almanac is this far askew this year, maybe we'll have one of those old-time winters that hit hard on Jan. 1 and blast us all the way through St. Pat's. I remember one of the heaviest snows of my life was on the Ides of March back before I graduated from high school. That was old-timey; maybe we're going to revert to that.  Lord, I hope not.

We got a little bit of snow this past weekend, and it was still cold yesterday, Christmas Day. The National Weather Service says it is going to be below freezing the rest of this week. Maybe on Jan.1, the seeds' prediction will start in. Again, Lord, I hope not.

Well, hunker down and stay warm, folks. Throw another log on the fire.