I was born in a small town not far from Punxsutawney. The schools were closed on Groundhog Day so we could go and enjoy the festivities. It was a great Winter break.
I must take exception with the author of this article. Phil is NOT a pudgy rodent! Phil (and all the Phils before him) is the cutest groundhog I have ever seen. Much cuter than Buckeye Chuck.
Yesterday morning (Groundhog Day) I woke up at about 4am, turned on the patio light to let my little Maggie out and I see the groundhog (nests about two acres from my property) scoot across the yard and I saw his shadow. Maybe it was the floodlight from the patio?
BTW Keith, the whole groundhog-shadow business is from an old German folktale. Many Germans (including my paternal grandmother's family of Hessians) settled in that area in Pennsylvania.
CW
From: politicalforum@googlegroups.com [mailto:politicalforum@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Tommy News
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 08:28
To: politicalforum@googlegroups.com
Subject: Punxsutawney Phil celebrates 125 years of Groundhog Day, Predicts Early Spring
Punxsutawney Phil celebrates 125 years of Groundhog DayComments
By Laura Bly, USA TODAY
Punxsutawney Phil, right, is held by Ben Hughes after emerging from
his burrow on Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., to see his shadow
and forecast six more weeks of winter weather Feb. 2, 2010.
CAPTIONBy Gene J. Puskar, AP In the hit 1993 comedy Groundhog Day,
weatherman Bill Murray's worst nightmare is to keep waking up in the
snowy Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney - home of a pudgy,
prognosticating rodent named Phil.
Murray's disdain notwithstanding, Phil's Feb. 2 forecasts have been
drawing revelers to Punxsutawney for 125 years ... and today was no
exception, despite freezing rain and a wind advisory. Shivering
celebrants watched as Phil emerged from his temporary burrow—a
simulated tree stump at the rural site of Gobbler's Knob - and, to no
one's surprise, failed to see his shadow. The subsequent verdict from
his handlers: The Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to the Super Bowl,
and spring is around the corner.
RELATED: How accurate is the groundhog at predicting weather?
For those of us who haven't made the trek to Punxsutawney, about 80
miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Phil is going high-tech with texts,
Foursquare badges and Facebook updates of his early morning forecast.
Fans could watch streaming video of the big announcement here.
As for snuggling like Murray and co-star Andie MacDowell in that
Punxsutawney B&B? "That was a bit of Hollywood fiction," the tourist
office notes. " There really is a Cherry Street, but there is no bed &
breakfast there. You could stay at the Pantall Hotel, which is where
Bill Murray stayed when he visited in 1992."
More:
http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/02/punsutawney-phil-celebrates-125-years-of-groundhog-day/141150/1
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Tommy
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