There may not be any snow, but…

Seven years in a row! That’s how many times I stood ankle deep in the snow and made a Groundhog Day prediction. But not this year. The winter of 2020 has been surprisingly warm. Instead of standing on frigid snow pack, this year my toes fall firmly on dead grass. It’s wilted and frostbitten, but it’ grass. And the temperature is a relatively nice 47 degrees. Okay, it might be a little chilly if you’re a naked monkey, but I come with a built in fur coat and trust me, 47 degrees is pretty nice.

Of course what I stand on when I make my annual prediction is not nearly as important as what tradition dictates and the big question is do I or do I not see my shadow. It’s not my choice. This is a union thing. All the groundhogs do it this way. Of course nature does seem to favor some groundhogs over others. Punxsutawney Phil this year did not see his shadow. I’m guessing his eyes weren’t open because all the photos of the event at Gobbler’s Knob show the sun out. There’ve been a lot of calls for Phil to retire over the last few years, the most recent one from P.E.T.A. Perhaps they’re all right. If you can’t open your eyes to take a measurement, you might be too old for the job. And to make things worse, statistics show that Phil is only 40% correct in his predictions. That’s worse than flipping a coin!

Based on my observations today – a midwinter sunbath on a day promising to reach an unseasonable 71 degrees – I’m leaning towards another six weeks of winter. No, I’m not a meteorologist or a climatologist, but there’s this chill in my toes this morning that tells me I’m right. Don’t put your winter clothes away. Just set them aside and enjoy today’s warm weather. Winter might be late, but it’s not giving up.

A sunny winter morning in Aurora, CO.