Groundhog Day

If the groundhog sees his shadow
On this special day
It will frighten him back to his burrow
And that’s where he will stay
Six more weeks of winter…they say!

Well, I didn’t see the groundhog come out (Did anyone? Where does he actually live?). But as it was sunny here today with very few clouds, I guess that when he did pop out of his burrow, he would have seen his shadow. So another six weeks of winter it is, then. Which doesn’t seem so strange, really, as we are only at the beginning of February. In fact, if we ONLY get another six weeks of winter, I will be delighted.

And what I’d like to know is: Why, when the groundhog comes out again in six weeks, does he then NOT get frightened by his shadow? What did he learn in those six weeks about the nature of shadows, that he didn’t know before? And why doesn’t he remember his shadowistics from year to year?

I don’t suppose I’ll ever get any answers to these question, and my prospects for an early springtime will continue to be guided blindly by this confused little dude. It added an interesting aspect to the day, though – but why didn’t Google put a groundhog on its logo?