It’s time once again for the magical groundhog to bestow upon us his weather prognostications. Whenever I get the urge to make fun of other cultures for some weird ritual or habit, I think about how bizarre our own culture is by way of getting weather predictions from a rodent, decorating a dead tree and keeping it in the house for a month and dressing up our children and sending them around to panhandle for candy. I suppose weird is relative, right?According to StormFax Almanac, Phil's winter predictions have been correct 39 percent of the time. Which, if you think about it, is actually pretty impressive since he (most likely) doesn't have a meteorological background or the use of advanced weather satellites or computers. Groundhogs, you see, have tiny little paws, thus making computer usage difficult. I'd say his average is probably on par with most local weather stations.
I learned all kinds of interesting groundhog facts from the StormFax Alamanac, click here and here to learn more. I learned that groundhogs typically live six to eight years. (Except Phil, who — according to the experts — drinks a magical punch every summer during the Groundhog Picnic. The punch gives him seven more years of life. Sounds reasonable.)
A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. In fact, another name for groundhog is “whistlepig," which I’m pretty sure I’m going to say from now on. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting, I’m assuming they whistle at their mates like New York City construction workers yelling out salacious suggestions. It’s fun in my head.
No matter what Phil has to say, it never hurts to have some extra supplies on hand in case his prediction calls for a heaping helping of winter. Check on your supply kit, rotate your stock and make sure you have plenty of alternatives in case the power goes out.
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