Today is February 2^nd; but why take time to mention this? It is Groundhog Day: a holiday celebrated both here in the U.S. and in Canada; a holiday that has said to have been celebrated in the states since 1841. Old folklore states that if a groundhog emerges from its underground home and sees its own shadow, we can expect another six weeks of that cold, icy, snowy, and treacherous season called winter. Of course, we’d all rather hear that the groundhog did not see his shadow: the more optimistic outcome being spring will soon begin and winter will retreat from our landscape for a few months.

Unfortunately, the groundhog’s emergence from his burrow in 2010 brought about the most undesirable “forecast”. According to the little brown mammal (or shall I say  rodent), we can expect more white snow and icy drizzle coupled with those freezing temperatures we have all come to love. Maybe it is best to hold in our minds the thought of the approaching green spring and all its glory during these six weeks of winter.