Spring Is Coming

   Well, it was groundhog day today, and 2 of the 3 main ones agree that spring is just around the corner. Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Ontario's Wiarton Willie did NOT see their shadows. Pennsylvania's Punxsutawny Phil did, meaning 6 more weeks of winter there. Of course, in a vast part of North America, a lot of people are still waiting for winter, with temperatures anywhere from 4 to 11 degrees celsius above normal.
   But does the prognostication of a rodent actually mean anything? Of course not, but it's become a tradition in both the U.S and Canada. And quite fun, too. Unless you're a groundhog. I don't think I'd like to be unceremoniously ripped from my bed and thrust into what can be a very cold morning while a large crowd of people either cheer if I don't see a shadow, or jeer when I do. Hell, a few years ago, one of the groundhogs had a death threat when he saw his shadow.
   Now needless to say, there are far more forecasting rodents than the one's I've listed, but these are the so-called big 3, and in 2012 the vast majority were calling for an early spring.
   But the forecast, as you are well aware, depends not on a groundhog, but on whether or not it's sunny or cloudy, and has no bearing at all on how much more winter we can expect, although a good swath of eastern Europe would welcome an early dose of spring right about now.
   'Nuff said.