It's Ground Hog day and all the action seems to be centered around Gobbler's Knob and Punxsutawney Phil. Well move over you overweight rodent! There's another Phil around these parts and I figured I should go outdoors and see for myself what all the hoopla is about. Out of the house I leave just before daybreak in search of my shadow. It's 21 degrees; cold enough to make me wish I had a few of your fat layers and a nice fur covering.
So off to the lakefront park I go, in search of my shadow. It's an ashen gray sky, snow covered ground and partially frozen lake. All this leads me to believe it's going to be tough to find my own shadow. Wait a minute, is this is supposed to be a harbinger of an early Spring just around the corner? I wonder who thought that one up?
So far so good. No sign of these Canadian Geese casting any shadows either. Noisy critters - probably arguing among themselves for not heading far enough south this winter.
Well it's obvious that this Cardinal can't see his shadow either. In fact, it's obvious he has been eating quite well too. I'm not sure he would be able to see his shadow even if it was sunny outside. He must have developed bad eating habits from that pesky groundhog.
Uh oh, we may have a technicality here. These geese are sitting and walking on top of the ice formation on the lake. And since the ice is smooth, there is a reflection. Surely this is different from a shadow, right? I'm going with no shadow. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
So there you have it. No shadows seen here. As a result, I wasn't scared enough to scurry on home. Feeling elated to learn that Spring would arrive early based on my extensive shadow searching, I decided to finish out the morning run. Woo hoo! Spring is just around the corner! I'm sure that Punxsutawney Phil will agree with this Phil.
Dammit!
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