Viewpoint...from
the Guelph Mercury
We know there's no weight in
it. It's not scientific. Its overall and
recent accuracy has been lousy! And yet
many of us will take at least a passing interest in what the prognosticator
groundhog will be purporting to have told Sunday about how much winter there
remains ahead of us.
The Wiarton Willies of this world
~ and there have been more than one ~ always attract some attention.
But when the rodents emerge
during winters that have been unstintingly snowy, blowy and chilly, the issue
of whether they immediately see their shadow garners particular interest.
Last winter contributed to scores
of local collisions...influenced many injurious slips and falls...led to school
closures...bus cancellations...travel nightmares...and cold-caused injuries to
people and animals.
The weather people kept telling
us temperatures would be frigid...winds
would make us feel colder...and we could expect some more snow. And those predictions were correct. Day after day!
Local media touts all the good
that occurs with having a heavy winter...recharging local watersheds...keeps
native and alien insect pest populations lower...and helps offer moisture for
farmers' fields. This offers little consolation if February and March prove to
be like January. So again, we know
there's nothing to the groundhog gig.
But we can't help but pay attention ~ just in case.
Groundhog Day ~
February 2, 2015
This date, calendared in both
United States and Canada, centers on the idea of the groundhog coming out of
its home to predict the weather. Some
states have adopted their own Groundhog.
Punxsutawney Phil lives in
Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania. The town
has had thousands of visitors over the years to experience various Groundhog
Day events and activities on February 2.
Tradition has it that
'if the Groundhog sees its shadow on February 2,
it will be frightened
by it and will return to its burrow'...
indicating there will
be 6 more weeks of winter.
'If it does not see
its shadow...the Spring is on its way.'
Punxsutawney held its first
Groundhog Day in the 1800's...the first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was
made on February 2,1887. Staten Island Chuck lives in New York State;
and General Beauregard Lee lives in Lilburn, Georgia. The Groundhog is also known as a woodchuck or
marmot.
Locally, Ontario has Wiarton
Willie...Canada's most famous Groundhog.
Wiarton, a community of 2,300, is in the Bruce Peninsula between Lake
Huron and Georgian Bay. Each year Willie
takes part in Wiarton Willie Festival...and his job is to predict if we will have an
early Spring or not. This festival is one of the largest winter events in
Ontario. Other famous Canadian
Groundhogs are: Balzoc Billy in
Alberta...Brandon Bob in Manitoba...and Schubeacadie Sam in Nova
Scotia.
F.Y.I. The groundhog belongs to the same family as
squirrels, gophers and chipmunks. They
eat mostly grass and other plants.
Groundhogs raise their young and
hibernate in burrows underground.
Wonderful Groundhog
Day!
Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband,
“I'll bet you don't know what day this is?”
“Of course, I do,” he answered sharply (as if he was
offended) and left for the office.
The doorbell rang at 10 am. And
when his wife opened the door, she was handed a box of a dozen long-stemmed
roses...which she lovingly placed in a crystal vase.
At 1 pm a foil-wrapped, two-pound
box of her favourite chocolates was delivered.
Later a boutique, where she
sometimes shopped, delivered a designer dress.
The woman could hardly wait for
her husband to come home.
“First, the
flowers...then the chocolates...and then the dress,” she exclaimed.
“I've never had a
more wonderful Groundhog Day in my life!!!”
What would you get if you crossed a groundhog with a
puppy???
A Ground-dog Day!
A Ground-dog Day!
What would you get if you crossed a groundhog with a
Christmas drink???
A Ground-nog Day!
A Ground-nog Day!
What would you get if
you adopted a groundhog from the Humane Society???
A Pound-dog Day!
A Pound-dog Day!
Enjoy Groundhog Day,
Everyone!
Submitted by Merle
Baird-Kerr...January 27, 2015
Comments are
welcome...email to:
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