Saturday, February 2, 2013

Attack Of The Groundhogs



"Aye, stay and you might be used for a photo op. Run, and you might be able to sleep. At least for awhile. And dying in your burrows, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here, and tell our enemies, that they might take our pictures, but they'll get bitten in the nose for it!!!!!" ~ worldwide message to all groundhogs by Wiarton William Wallace, Groundhog Guerrilla Leader, February 2nd, 2013

"In the Year of Our Lord, 2013, patriot groundhogs, cranky and outnumbered, charged the humans at Punxsutawney, Wiarton, Quarryville, Shenandoah, Brandon, Shubenacadie, and across the world. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like groundhogs. And won world domination." ~ from The World According To Groundhogs


Once again, it's that time of year. No, not my cousin's birthday, though yes, he shares his birthday with a day dedicated to prognosticating rodents. In ceremonies in many places, if a cranky rodent hauled out of its burrow by smiling people on the second of February happens to see its shadow, six more weeks of winter will result. If no shadow is seen, that means spring will come early. If the cranky rodent happens to glare at the crowds the wrong way, Bill Murray will spend a year living the same day over and over and over again. If the cranky rodent happens to claw the face of the annoying human who dragged him out in the first place, an ice age will come. And inevitably winter sticks around for ten more weeks anyway, despite the prognosticating rodent being wrong either way. Still, the groundhog isn't any less accurate than the entirely too cheerful dolts who spend far too much time on our televisions each night explaining why they were completely off base forecasting a sunny day today while a metre or two of snow are falling outside.

Happy Groundhog Day! With any luck, we'll have twelve more weeks of winter.


27 comments:

  1. Even the groundhogs would find this funny!

    And Phil DIDN'T see his shadow! Yippeeee!

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  2. Dammit, Phil! Well, we've had more snow in MD this week, so I'm a happy girl!

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  3. Love love love this one !
    Sending this to my Groundhog baby boy in Japan.
    I always told him if you have to share your birthday with a holiday... this is the one ! Quirky, crazy, fun and a hoot.

    cheers, parsnip

    Watson...
    Phil, I know a lawyer who will take your case pro bono for home invasion by not so nice tall persons wearing funny hats !

    thehamish...
    we arethink'that groundhogs are very cute cousins we are lovin' them.

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  4. Was down to the Wiarton Willie Pancake Breakfast this morning with my Son and Grandsoons. Of course he could not see his shadow there was no Sun ! but lots of Snow Squalls going on in Bruce County.

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  5. @Norma: Phil must have been thinking, "What, again?"

    @Krisztina: apparently his accuracy rate is less than fifty percent anyway...

    @Parsnip: thank you! @The Square Ones: my grandparents had dogs a lot bigger than you two who used to hunt groundhogs...

    @Cindy: one of these years I should get up there for Groundhog Day!

    @Under Cover: Only eighteen more weeks of winter...

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  6. I guess since we don't have winter out here we don't have groundhogs either? Glad he didn't see his shadow and winter's almost over. Oh wait, you love winter....

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  7. NYC doesn't use groundhogs for weather prediction. We use the subway. If your express train goes local 8 stops before your destination, you're going to have six more weeks of shitty winter commuting.
    There's a plan to use rats instead of groundhogs, but there are so many of them to watch, and they won't hold still, it became impractical.

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  8. I have never put much faith in this. No matter what, we still are in winter. Last winter we went into spring immediately! So, seeing or not seeing a shadow by a rodent has nothing to do with anything. I have no idea who came up with this idiotic "forecasting" of when spring will come.
    ~a cranky Illinoian sick of being cold!

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  9. Love the groundhog with the light sabre! What's he saying? Get back, folks, I've had enough of your staring?

    Gotta admit, they're cute little critters! Even if they can't forecast worth a darn!

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  10. Wonder where this bizarre tradition came from? Those baby groundhogs are so cute!

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  11. Apparently the groundhog predicted an early spring!! LOL! No shadow! Or something!! If it hadn't been for the Bill Murray (very funny!) film, I'd never know about this tradition! Take care
    x

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  12. p.s.
    Happy birthday to you
    Happy birthday to you!
    Happy birthday to you-hooooooo!
    Happy birthday to you!

    Hip-hip hooray!!!

    Take care
    x

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  13. Thank goodness Groundhog Day doesn't really apply to Texas. Although, it has been cold these past few days, our spring will probably arrive in the next day or so. Stay warm!

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  14. Happy Groundhog Day! It doesn't even feel like we had a winter here in Tallahassee, FL! Jeez...

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  15. @Eve: yes I do!

    @Tim: that's a completely different prognostication!

    @Lorelei: the tradition came over from Europe, it seems.

    @Cheryl: they're fun to watch scampering around.

    @Helen: aren't they just adorable?

    @Old Kitty: that film is one that just gets better with time. And thank you!

    @GK: you need a blizzard in Texas!

    @Diane: you need a blizzard in Florida too! Think what it would do to those Canadian snowbirds!

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  16. Happy Groundhog Day William, I'm thinking this creature is probably as accurate without trying as the forecasters are with all their equipment...Bill Murray rooolz!!

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  17. Indeed, groundhogs are warrior poets!

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  18. @Nas: thanks!

    @Grace: and far less obnoxious than human prognosticators!

    @Lynn: Mel Gibson's screenwriter won't be happy with me for borrowing those lines....

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  19. Oh, are they not cute? What a lovely fluffy animal. Well chosen

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  20. LOL.. that first pic is a riot. And I love prognosticating rodents. lol
    Groundhog Day has to be one of the best all time movies. Bill Murray is hilarious in it. Love him.

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  21. The best thing about Punxsutawney is the road out of town.

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  22. Happy (belated) Groundhog Day! It must've been a special day indeed because when I tried to visit your site earlier, my google chrome blocked me with an alarming message about malware on your site...? (Probably those pesky spammers!) I guess it's supposed to be an early spring - which means time for some Groundhog Day viewing:)

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  23. @Angelika: they are cute!

    @PK: it's a movie that just gets better with time...

    @Scarlett and James: so I've heard!

    @LondonLulu: that's weird!

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  24. Well, I'm counting on the groundhog being right about an early spring this year, even though it doesn't look like it from where I'm sitting, and if spring is coming early it better hurry up, it's running out of time.

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  25. @Christine: maybe by the end of April...

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