'Ow Do, Chuck! Today is what Americans call Groundhog Day. Besides being an excellent film what this day is all about is relying on a hibernating rodent to prognosticate on whether or not Spring is on the way. If the groundhog can see its shadow then it goes back into hibernation; if not it stays awake. This is of course a load of balderdash because if Spring is not on the way then the Earth is no longer tilting about its axis and something has gone seriously wrong indeed. February the Second is, not surprisingly, half way between the Winter and Spring solstices. The custom apparently dates back to pre-Christian times when the Celts used to reckon that when badgers were up and about things would be warming up. The Americans seem to have adapted the custom from some European immigrants.
Whatever. When I looked out this morning there were no shadows. It was dull and overcast and drizzling with rain. If I the option had been available to me then I would have gone back into hibernation.
PS. The groundhog is also known as the woodchuck and it remains a matter of some debate how much wood a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
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