In Ontario there is always a bit of a conundrum about Ground Hog Day. We are on our umpeenth "Wiarton Willie", and one has to wonder... how does he tell us he sees his shadow? According to Wikipedia, "It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early." So, like most of us, if the groundhog goes outside and its too cold, he gets scared, or he is just still tired, he goes back to bed. This is then construed as "six more weeks of Winter". 

If I were titled the reliable source of such decision... well it would be Winter ALL THE TIME.

Always been a bit... arbitrary to me.

There are also other considerations, such as other provinicial groundhogs, but as written in today's National Post, "Groundhog Day: Fred is dead in Quebec, Willie and Sam at odds over spring's arrival". This reduced the consensus, and made for a 50/50 spilt between the two remaining critters as Willie suposedly saw his shadow, and Sam did not. Makes one wonder about their meterological training, or if perhaps they need matching copies of the Farmers Almanac? 

It brings about the consideration of the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. This movie pivots around a different concept of 'groundhog day' - that of it being a repetitive day until the main character, Phil, gets it 'right'. This is a dangerous scenario for anyones mental state, and as such we hope it never rings true. However, there is one line however that cannot be denied: "A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat." It was -2 when I was driving into work today, with a lovely wind chill; merely providing ambiance for the events occuring in Wiarton. 

Here at JLC we too, however, are at a 50/50 impass on whether we want it to remain Winter for another 6 weeks. On one hand, dealing with the Winter snow is good for cardio and compensation, on the other hand... the Spring/Summer lawn care is warmer. As such, we are electing to follow the "one day at a time" mantra and see what tomorrow brings - our weather lately has been unpredictable as it is!