Hello! And happy February! And happy Healthy Heart Month! Hey, did all of your Ground Hog Day celebrations go well for you? Did you anticipate the 6 more weeks of winter that Punxsutawney Phil predicted? Did you really think that he was going to give us an early spring?

So, it’s a wow – winter! What winter? Oh, well, maybe now good old Mother Nature will actually hunker down and give us some really honest-to-goodness winter weather. After all, Punxsutawney Phil has given her a winter mandate for the nest 6 weeks.

And – just who is Punxsutawney Phil? And just why is his presence on February 2 so celebrated by thousands worldwide? Well, most likely, those thousands need something (like anything) to celebrate – just to break the monotony of cabin fever. After all, winter is officially half over on February 5! So, in all likelihood, all of this stuff that we’ve had so far (stuff as in winter in the North Country) will perhaps continue for another 6 week, according to Phil. Or maybe not!

So – Punxsutawney Phil – just who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he so celebrated?

Well, according to his web site (yes, he has his very own web site – www.groundhog.org), Punxsutawney Phil is the one and only weather forecasting ground hog that is, was, and forever will be. Any others are just cheap imitations – unimportant imposters! P has been doing his thing for over 120 years. And – if you can believe this one – Punxsutawney Phil is the one and only. You see, Punxsutawney Phil gets his long life by drinking his special brew – “ground hog punch”. (Yeah – right!)

It seems that Punxsutawney Phil takes only 1 little itty, bitty sip of this “ground hog punch” at the official okie dokie ground hog picnic in summer. And then he gets another 7 years put on to his life force. How’s that for a potent batch of “kick-a-poo” juice? Gees, I’d really love to get my hands on that patent for “ground hog juice”. Just think – 1 sip gets you 7 more years of life! I’d probably make billions of dollars!

At any rate, February 2 has been called Ground Hog Day for quite some time now. And p, Pennsylvania is the official sponsor of Punxsutawney Phil. And to be more precise, Gobbler’s Knob is the official site, the real scene of the crime.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania started Ground Hog Day way back in the 1800’s – on Feb. 2, 1887. It seems that p was named after King Philip. He probably should have had the whole town of Punxsutawney beheaded including the ground hog! It appears that King Philip obviously had a great sense of humor. Either that, or Punxsutawney Phil was the best-kept secret for a while!

Did you know that February 2 was originally celebrates as Candlemas Day in the Christian churches? As the legend goes:
“For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
so far will the snow swirl in May”.
And to help the sun along on Candlemas Day, the clergy bless candles for the people. So this time of the year seems to mark a milestone on the mid-point of winter. And the weather on this day was considered important. The symbolism of light, whether from the sun or from candles, is present in both legends.

And American farmers in the 19th century used Feb. 2 as an important milestone as well. The old saying goes:
“Ground Hog Day – Half your hay”
So if a farmer didn’t have half of his hay left by this time of the year for his cows, then those cows were going to get very hungry before springtime set in.

So, why a ground hog? Well, in Europe in the really early years, the Roman legions brought this Candlemas winter milestone thing with them to the Teutons, the Germans. They, in turn, came to the conclusion that if the sun came out on Feb. 2, Candlemas Day, an animal coming out of his deep dark and dreary hibernation hole, would cast his shadow, and promptly get scared of that shadow (since his hibernation hole was deep and dark and dreary) and then go back down into his deep, and dark, and dreary hibernation hole, which was not only deep, and dark, and dreary, but also safe! And he would stay there for another 6 more weeks of winter. And because he was safe in his deep, and dark, and dreary, and safe hibernation hole, there would be more 6 weeks of horrible, terrible, no good, very bad winter!

And the Germans’ favorite winter hibernating mammal back then was none other than . . .
the hedgehog! (I’ll bet you thought I was going to say ground hog. I don’t think ground hogs were invented back then – only hedgehogs!) Now back in the 1800’s, the early Pennsylvanian settlers were German (and their favorite winter hibernating mammal was the hedgehog), and when February 2 came around, they noticed lots of ground hogs around – not hedgehogs! And so they elected the humble, prolific ground hog (AKA Punxsutawney Phil) to be their favorite intelligent, smart, hibernating, fuzzy animal that would awaken on February 2 from his long winter hibernation nap.

And then, depending on the weather on that day, Punxsutawney Phil might see his shadow, get scared, and return to his burrow for another 6-week snooze. Remember, his burrow was deep, and dark, and dreary, and safe. If Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, he wouldn’t get scared of it; he would not go back down into his hole. Instead, he’d stay awake, and, being hungry after sleeping for the first 6 weeks, Punxsutawney Phil would immediately start looking around for veggies to devour. No more winter naps, no more winter!

Smart – real smart!

Keep in mind, the ground hog is an official, card-carrying member of the rodent family. And ground hogs are voracious vegetable eaters! And, correct me if I am wrong, but the majority of normal, intelligent, smart people out there really don’t want many rodents around!

But you have to remember that Punxsutawney Phil is the only cute, intelligent, fuzzy, cuddly ground hog ever invented that you do want to have around – especially on Feb. 2, Ground Hog Day. And it’s just too bad that Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow. And it’s too bad that he did predict 6 more weeks of winter!

But, no – you don’t want to see any of Punxsutawney Phil’s hungry relatives anywhere near your vegetable garden come spring, whenever that ever comes.

More on Punxsutawney Phil’s relatives next week!

Hey – Remember – Eat Smart New York! (But do not eat smart ground hogs!)

And – Bye – Talk to you soon!

D