6 more weeks of winter?

Today is Groundhog Day. Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow this morning, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, winter is pretty much over (which is really never the case on Feb. 2 in Indiana). It all began in Germany with hedgehogs and badgers. The Pennsylvania Dutch didn’t see any hedgehogs or badgers when they arrived in Pennsylvania, so they gave the prognosticating (<-----notice I used a very big word here) assignment to the local groundhog, or woodchuck. The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil. Phil’s been giving us the long-range forecast from Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania since 1887.

According to legend if it is a sunny day and the groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow he gets scared. He then scurries back to his burrow and goes back to sleep. This means there will be six more weeks of winter. Now, if the day is cloudy and no shadow is seen, the groundhog will remain outside and that means spring is on its way.

It has been a very mild winter here in northern Indiana. Today’s forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of snow. If the groundhog lived here in Podunk, I would say our chances of an early spring is pretty good. Since that is not the case we’ll have to wait to see how this all plays out. Keep your fingers crossed.

Feb. 2 is also Candlemas Day. This is the 40th day after Christmas. An old saying goes: “Half the wood and half the hay, better have left on Candlemas Day”. Of course, that means that if you have half your winter provisions left at this point…you’ll make it through the winter. February 2 is one of the great cross-quarter days which make up the wheel of the year. It falls midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.