Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Groundhog Day 2012

Image Source:  Aaron E. Silvers
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, the day a groundhog predicts just how much more winter weather we will have.  But, it is not just some random groundhog wandering out of his hole in some farmer's field.  No, this is an EVENT!

It all takes place at 7:20 tomorrow morning at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  Phil, the celebrity groundhog, will make his appearance and give his prediction.  According to the legend, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather.  If not, then we get an early Spring.

Phil has been doing this for about 125 years, so he must be getting good at it by now.  You can read more about Phil, and the history of Groundhog Day here.

I am eagerly awaiting Phil's prediction because as you can see, it has been a mild winter so far here in the sunny South.  For us to really have winter now, Phil would need a sunny day indeed.  

I spied this daffodil yesterday while taking advantage of the warm weather to work in the yard.  It is not unheard of to see them in January, but are usually a bit later.


These snowdrops are normally the first flowers of the season, and they are right on schedule.  


So whether we pull out our straw hats or toboggans, hats off to Phil for 125 years on the job.  If you'd like to watch the ceremony, it will be webcast here.



7 comments:

  1. It's been such a bizarre winter here so far that I hope our local groundhog Wiarton Willie tells us that it will be a short winter and that there's not a ton of snow waiting to explode over us sometime soon :)

    Those snowdrops are gorgeous, Linda! I've never seen them before. Our daffies won't be out until May and I cant' wait to see them again :)

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  2. We've had next to no rain here, and I know we need it. But it's supposed to be about 70 degrees until Tuesday of next week so that's a fun forecast. Remind me aI said that when I can't take showers.

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  3. Talon- It has been very mild here, but maybe it just seems milder because the last two winters were much colder, and we had snow several times. Those snowdrops are our first bloomers, well before winter is over - no matter the weather.

    Linda- That is great weather, and its hard to wish for rain with that forecast. However, when we have really hot, dry summers, we are all praying for a rainy day. Anyway, I thought you didn't take showers. ;)

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  4. Hmmm, we've got a Canadian version of Phil. His name is Willie. I don't know what his prediction was, but if it's another 6 weeks of the type of winter we've had to date, it won't be so bad. Although we don't have any flowers blooming... :-)

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  5. Nicky- Talon mentioned Willie, too. I don't know how close you are to each other, but hopefully the remaining winter will be pleasant for both of you. It was T-shirt weather here yesterday, but we could still get hit.

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  6. Linda,

    I heard Phil didn't see his shadow and that this means more winter. It's strange because we're having an early Spring. The weather is indeed, a fickle thing, isn't it?

    I hope you have a nice weekend:~)

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  7. It most certainly is fickle. We had two cold winters with snow, and now it is back to what is normal here. I hope summer brings a balance of rain and sun, and light on the storms, if you please.

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