A picture I took in Great Falls, Montana of a yellow-bellied marmot.
Phil saw his shadow this morning in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania forecasting 6 more weeks of winter. Last year on February 2, I wrote a blog post about Groundhog Day saying that the 2009 prediction was no surprise to me. It's still no surprise to me this year and it's kind of hard to imagine anyone seeing their shadow right now with all of the clouds and inversions we've been having. Light snow has been falling on and off for a few days but the temperatures have been milder than usual this winter. We can thank El Nino for that, not Phil.
Since it's Groundhog Day, I'm going to ramble on about some trivia I think you may want to know, or not, depending on your level of tolerance for the inconsequential. First of all, I just found out that Alaska doesn't celebrate Groundhog Day with the lower 48. Hmm, I don't know about Hawaii, I'll have to check that out. Anyway, Alaska doesn't have groundhogs, they only have marmots. So, Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, signed a bill last year designating February 2 as Marmot Day. When I read this interesting bit of trivia, a bell went off in my head. Why? Because, just like Alaska, we don't have groundhogs, we have marmots. Remember I said I wrote a blog article last year about Groundhog Day? It included some brief information about groundhogs being woodchucks, and woodchucks being marmots and how marmots like to chew on your shoes. You'll just have to read it for yourself. What is my point? Nothing significant, except that I have family ties to Alaska, and that the guy that wrote it was kind of taking a pot shot at Sarah Palin for her stupidity. But he doesn't seem to be aware that groundhogs are marmots anymore that she does.
Next, why not celebrate this day by watching the 1993 movie classic "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray. Murray is a self-centered weatherman with the hated assignment of covering Punxsutawny Phil's annual groundhog day prediction. A blizzard prevents he and his crew from leaving the small town and they have to stay overnight. He wakes up to find himself repeating the same day over and over. At first, he is a real cad and takes advantage of the townspeople, but as he falls in love with his producer, played by Andie MacDowell, he has a change of heart. It's a sweet, romantic comedy and you can watch it for free on Youtube. Just search Groundhog Day part 1.
