Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The annual ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions and was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants.
Phil, the groundhog, emerges from his burrow each year the morning of Feb. 2. If he sees his shadow, tradition holds, there will be six more weeks of winter. This year, he did nothing to see his shadow heralding an early spring.
Now for the Big news: Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who comes out of and gives us a weather forecast, and his wife Phyllis are the proud parents of two little baby groundhogs. First of all, I did not know Phil had a wife. So good for them.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club said in a Social Media post Wednesday that Phyllis recently gave birth to two healthy babies. It did not specify their sex or give names for either one.
I know Ground Hog day is over but when I read this news, I thought it was so cute, I had to write about it
“We’re pleased to announce that Punxsutawney Phil has had his first children; We believe there are two baby groundhogs and that Phil and Phyllis have started a family,“ said Thomas Dunkel, president of the tuxedo-clad group called The Inner Circle that carries on the groundhog tradition each year, said at a news Wednesday. “We’re pleased about it, and I talked to Phil with my cane, which let’s me speak Groundhogese, and Phil could not be more excited that he started a family.”
Dunkel said a club member discovered the babies Saturday when he came to feed their parents fruit and vegetables.
No I don’t care for ground hogs and, actually, they scare me.
NOTE: More than a century ago, Punxsutawney residents relied on groundhogs for more than just weather forecasts. They ate them as well. I have never tasted groundhog but I know a few who have cooked and ate them.
I did not know this but groundhogs are smart. They can communicate with their children; they can sense anything dangerous; and they work together to burrow down in the ground where they live.
When the groundhogs builds its home, it actually builds a bathroom. It’s a designated place away from the space where the family sleeps or stores its food.
Groundhogs can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes when diving into water to escape danger.
The sound of a groundhog is like a whistle. When a guy groundhog sees a good looking lady ground hog, he whistles at her.
Well next Feb 2, Phil and Phyllis’s babies will be a year old. Wonder if their dad will show them how to forecast weather?
I hope you enjoyed reading about groundhogs as much as i did writing them Have you ever had a groundhog on your property? Did you know how smart they are? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
