Dear Kid,

Yesterday, Punxsutawney Phil was ceremoniously yanked out of a sound slumber to prognosticate the timing of spring.

Without coffee.

Seriously? How can anyone be expected to think things through without caffeine?

This year, the morning fogginess seems to have worked in our favor because P. Phil didn’t see his shadow. By definition, this means that spring will come early.

To be honest, I knew that before The Groundhog made his announcement because some of the iris (irises? irisi?) are poking their leaves up already. And they don’t aren’t supposed to do that until spring.

For the part of the eye, the usual medical plural is irides. For the flower both iris and irises are in common use.

So even though the first day of spring is officially not until March 20, the unofficial first day is now because WARM!

Happy (almost) spring!

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Well, that silly rodent saw his shadow and we’re in for 6 more weeks of winter. Sigh.

Groundhog Day tradition dates back to 1887, when the first groundhog was introduced in Punxsutawney. The editor of a newspaper of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney declared Phil was “America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog.” I was not in Punxsutawney then. In fact, I’ve never been to Punxsutawney, an oversight I will need to rectify one of these days.

Groundhogs (when they are not acting like meteorologists) typically weigh between 12 and 15 pounds, making them smaller than the Puppy. They whistle when they’re frightened or when they are looking for a mate.

Since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow 102 times. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Phil has “no predictive skill.” But according to AccuWeather, Phil has been right 80% of the time. Which is probably more than most meteorologists.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

I have a notion. A stray little thought that wandered into my cranium about a year ago and took up residence. I thought maybe it had been a temporary boarder, but it recently popped up again.

I want to go to Gobbler’s Knob on Groundhog Day.

There are only about a thousand problems with this notion starting with

1.  I don’t think Dad will be interested in going,
2.  They open the gate to Gobbler’s Knob at 3am which is a ridiculous hour,
3.  That ridiculous hour is made even more ridiculous because it’s the middle of freakin’ winter and therefore cold (which I hate), and
4.  Groundhog Day 2015 is on a Monday—and it’s not recognized as one of the holidays we get to skip work for.

On the plus side, it’s Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney!

I looked up Punxsutawney, PA on Google maps. It turns out that Gobbler’s Knob is on the outskirts of Punxsutawney and Punxsutawney is in exactly nowhere PA.

And there doesn’t seem to be much else to do in the area. Aside from the hand crafted groundhog souvenirs and the Punxsutawney Phil museum. Or something like that.

There’s always the possibility of getting caught in the same day over and over again, but they don’t advertise that.

Love, Mom