This will be the mildest winter in Minnesota's recorded history. We might barely have winter at all. I know this because an oak tree told me so.

For four generations, my family has sought information about the severity of upcoming winter by consulting an oak which grows on our family farm near Forada, Minn., population 197. Decade after decade, the tree has never been wrong. What the tree is saying this year actually gives me goose bumps.

Let me explain how oak trees predict winter. Few acorns mean a mild winter. Lots of acorns mean a winter that is particularly severe. And, naturally, a moderate amount of acorns means something in the middle.

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