Just last week, we had snow on the ground here in northern Alabama. Today, it was 74 during the mid-part of the day. We had part sunshine and part clouds; so if any groundhogs were poking up out of their burrows, it just depends on what part of the day, as to whether or not they would have seen their shadow. When I was growing up in north Idaho, we could do a fairly good prediction about the upcoming winter or the arrival of spring just by watching the farm animals. My horse would start growing his fluffy winter coat in the fall, and when it was going to be a really bad winter, he was usually growing a heavier coat than other years. In spring, the horses would all start to shed out those winter coats, and we would have piles and piles of horsehair to curry off as the weather warmed up and spring arrived. The animals seemed to have some sort of an inner sense that told them when to start growing the winter coat in the fall, and then when to shed it again in the spring. The gophers probably couldn't dig their way out of 3 feet of snow to tell if they could see their shadow or not; so they were not good weather predictors up in north Idaho. The horses, we could usually still see above the snowdrifts........
...and then there is the Wooly Bear Caterpillar! "The woolly bear caterpillar—with its 13 distinct segments of black and reddish-brown—has the reputation of being able to forecast the coming winter weather. Here are the history, facts, and lore about this legendary caterpillar".
I'm still at a loss of what groundhog day is all about. My only idea, no matter how slight, is the appearance of the animal. I presume that groundhog is an animal like a rodent as portrayed in one post above. But anyway, I think that celebration is connected to the upcoming spring which means saying goodbye to winter. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Corie, this is Groundhogs Day in a nutshell ... ... only this year they said he didn't see his shadow, so early spring. http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/groundhogsday/load.htm?f
Corrie, here is the history of the celebration of Groundhog Day. The weather forecasting, is not really taken seriously, and it is a fun occasion and a real industry and means of income for the people of Punxsutawney, PA. It is their "15 minutes of fame". http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-groundhog-day "Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal–the hedgehog–as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State".
Yes, an "early Spring" is what the old Groundhog says. Now, what my wife and I say........."BRING IT ON!!" We are both so, so ready for it and we live in Florida where the word "winter" is suppose to be an "unheard of" word. Today our high is 55 and this past Wed., the high was 85.