It’s no wonder Groundhog Day is a big deal to some people. Okay, so the obsession with furry forecasters with a 37% accuracy rate is a little funny. But February 2 is the halfway-point between the winter solstice and spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the bisecting of winter, as it were. All rodent predictions aside, it’s been six weeks since the longest night of the year – only six weeks to go until the day is as long as the night and the calendar says it’s spring.
Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania and Fred the groundhog in Val d’Espoir, Quebec, both saw their shadows this morning – so according to them, 6 more weeks it is. Meanwhile, Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia and Wiarton Willie in Ontario beg to differ – they’re both calling for an “early spring” which, as far as I can tell, means above seasonal temperatures and pleasant conditions.
We’ve already got our early spring in my neck of the woods; so early, in fact, it beat winter. While I am not complaining, and I sure hope we don’t pay for it with a very tardy winter in April and May, we’ve only had a few wintery days here (like last Friday, for example).
What’s funny about it, though, is despite the frequent thaws that mean we can see a bit of grass poking through every week, despite the calm conditions, and despite the higher-than-normal rainfall for this time of year, I still have a bit of that winter mindset. I won’t go so far as to say it’s the “blahs” because that’s not quite it – just that feeling like I want to sleep more and eat more and watch more TV. I guess I really am solar powered – if it’s not the temperature or the snowfall that gets to me, it must be the lack of sunshine. Either that or I was a bear in a past life – you know, because I like to eat myself stupid as it gets colder, then sleep for 3 months.
As much as I enjoy winter running, it’s a good thing I register for winter and spring races in the fall, because I can sure get lazy in the winter. Anyone else?
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