Groundhog Day

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here on this the 2nd of February. The notable day in North America that honors an overgrown chipmunk and his ability to prognosticate the weather for the next 6 weeks. It’s truly remarkable, given that meteorologists agree that forecasts beyond 7-10 days are essentially useless. And yet the rodent is supposed to be able to predict 6 weeks in advance. Yes – we turn to the groundhog for his opinion as to whether or not to put the snowblower back in storage. Remind me again how humans are the brightest species…

There are several famous groundhogs across the US and Canada, and I am pleased to point out that the first one to make his prediction in North America each year is right here in Nova Scotia – Shubenacadie Sam. There is generally a great deal of fanfare when the rodent emerges from his den – with the audience including local dignitaries, a bagpiper and “the press” – who wait with bated breath to see what the groundhog will do. If it’s sunny, and he sees his shadow, he will reportedly be frightened and will return to his den – signaling 6 more weeks of winter. Therefore, should one wish for an early spring, one should hope for a miserable cloudy day on February 2. Last year the festivities needed to be cancelled due to a storm in the forecast. So one would assume that Sam did not see his shadow. Which would mean an early spring forecast. Ah. But no. The storm ended early, the rodent emerged, saw his shadow – and the plans for early garden planting went down the groundhog hole. Does anyone not see the irony in this whole story?

Anyway, due to COVID gathering restrictions, no large event is planned for Sam this year. It will be virtual. Likely an exciting viewing event. Yawn. We have snow and rain in the forecast today. So who knows WHAT will happen.

Meanwhile, the imp is back to full speed, annoying the heck out of all of us. For two weeks he was on a limited exercise regime. And just like a battery that can be recharged, he has returned to full capacity. I went for a walk with him yesterday morning- and Her Highness repeated “never again” throughout the constitutional. If he wasn’t pulling, he was jumping on yours truly tangling himself in both our leashes – or if he was free, he was dashing at turbo speed to find every sample of animal poop in a half kilometer radius. His 45 minutes of frenzied running and walking did little to tire him out. So when Wendy contacted Her Highness to see if they wanted to go for walk with Gena, the German Shepherd, Her Highness jumped at the chance to tire out the imp. They walked for almost TWO hours. Now one might think that would tire him out. Hardly. The battery charge went down minimally. When he got home, he decided it would be great fun to drag his puppy bed out the door, down the stairs and into the backyard in the snow. Her Highness had to go after him and play a tugging game to get the bed back. Clearly two hours wasn’t enough of a walk…This photo is blurry – but Her Highness was running to get the bed. Note that the Picard doesn’t quite know what to do with this new toy.

Ah yes. The joys of youth.

Heaven help us in entertaining the imp if it is raining today. Who knows WHAT we will do. One thing I do know for certain – today, I will also play the role of weather prognosticator along with the rodent. If I refuse to go out the front door, it is raining. And I guarantee you – my forecasting abilities are 100% accurate. Frodo. The Prognosticating PON. I like the ring of that….Wish us luck. All of us.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.