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.

Quote of the Week

Image Source: Wikipedia

Benjamin Franklin said:   

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.

A penny is just a penny, right?  You find them in parking lots, shopping malls and restaurants.  So insignificant you often don't know you've dropped them, or don't bother to pick them up.

So why would we want to save our pennies?  Remember when you were a child, filling your piggy bank with pennies, nickels, dimes and the occasional quarter?  It was not a lot, but you learned the value of saving money.

I took my virtual piggy bank filled with a my savings of a penny a day for one year ($3.65) and calculated how much I would have after 50 years ($182.50).  Allowing a modest interest rate of 3% compounded quarterly, I would have $439.98.  OK, that's still not a lot of money, I will admit.  But, that is just the savings of one penny a day - one penny that might otherwise go unnoticed in a parking lot.

The point here is that small amounts add up over time, and even mighty oak trees were once acorns.

For my calculations, I used an online compounding calculator.

The Sillies

This is the kind of silliness that happens when you have a new phone, a stuffed animal and a glass of wine all in your possession at the same time.

Uh oh, Tiger down!

  

What do you think the tiger would say if he could talk?

No tigers or plushies were harmed in the creation of this post.

Beyond The Night

Though the sky at night be red

Tell me of the day ahead

Speak to me at dawn's light

Of things beyond mortal sight

Walk with me upon the grass

Where others before have passed

What do they know that I know not

All the things that time forgot

Written for dVerse poetry.

Quote of the Week

As I was walking up the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd go away.
- Hugh Mearns

I have come across this one many times in my quest for quotes, and always passed it over because it didn't seem to fit.  But I like it so it is this week's quote.  

What does it mean?

Some things that come to mind are, of course, ghosts, or figments of our imagination.  The thought that we are seeing people from our past, and talking to them as though they are real.  Or maybe it is an event that troubles us and causes us to see what isn't there.

On the other hand, it reminds me of a Dr. Seuss story I had on an old record when I was just a sprout.  It was much spookier back then.

The Pants With Nobody Inside Them

Most of you have read or listened to Dr. Suess?  What was your favorite tale?