Woolly Bear

There must have been at least 20 woolly bear caterpillars crossing the dirt road today when we went on our walk. Probably because we walked later than usual and it had warmed up considerably. I moved them all out of the road. I hope I didn't put them somewhere they didn't want to be, but squished is definitely not what they want to be, so...

This was the first one I moved. All brown! Most of them were black with a brown middle band. I don't think the myth about the size of the band predicting the weather over the winter holds water. But what do I know? I don't remember how the prediction goes anyway, so it's pretty much useless for me.

They're lovely and fuzzy and not at all spicy (Hahaha! Venomous snakes are "spicy noodles" so I call the fuzzy caterpillars that sting "spicy") so they're fun to pick up. They are the caterpillar of the Isabella moth. They're big enough to notice when you're driving, so at this time of the year I'm always trying to dodge them when I see them crossing the paved roads!