As fall approaches, let a cricket help you estimate the temperature. The warmer the temperature, the faster a cricket will chirp; the cooler, the slower the chirps. The formula endorsed by the Farmer’s Alamanac seems pretty reliable: Count cricket chirps for 15 seconds. Add 40 to get the approximate temperature in Fahrenheit. Example:  30 chirps + 40 = 70 degrees F.

To convert to Celsius, count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3 then add 4 to get the temperature.

Track this for a few days. Are the crickets getting slower or faster in your neighborhood?

[Thanks to Carol at Inside Outside Nature, a Dawn Publications blog, for the idea.]  

 Books:  Listening to Crickets: A Story about Rachel Carson by Candice Ransom for ages 8 and up is a non-fiction story about the famous environmentalist. The Cricket in Times Square  by George Selden is a classic twist on the city mouse/country mouse story.