Happy Ground Hog Day

Today marks a North American tradition, Ground Hog Day. Around the two countries are morning festivities with a local ground hog or in some cases a ground squirrel - who determines whether or not there will be an early spring. As you can imagine, especially if you are in Australia or the southern hemisphere, about now we’re really tired of sub-zero temperatures and snow.  According to folklore, if it’s cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks. The reports on the radio today were that neither Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania nor Wiarton Willy in Ontario saw their shadows. I have not heard from our local Balzac Billy but if the southern part of the province is having the same weather we are it will be an early spring.  I certainly hope so.

Ground Hog Day is also the name of a film with a cult following. In the movie the characters go to Punxsutawney and then the main character wakes up the next morning and its Ground Hog Day again, and again and again.  Ground Hog Day becomes a metaphor for our lives as we repeat the same routine day after day after day with little change. I shook it up last year but I have returned to my former life here with the same routines, almost exactly. I guess I stepped off the edge and now I am back on it, hovering.    

So little ground hog, what should I do?