Trivia: The term is "bellwether," i.e. a wether (castrated sheep) wearing a bell, used to guide the flock.

I kept checking the thread for responses and finally realized it, but too late to edit. I will probably wake up in a few days from a nightmare about this misspelling on HN. Happens all the time, no joke.

I think that in my mind, it was always some sort of weather related bell, like you ring it, when the weather changes.

Hopefully the sheep reference will help me remember.

I'd suggest reading the Connie Willis novel by that name - no idea if it will actually help, it's just really good writing :-)