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.