Groundhog Day is coming . . . are you ready?
Obviously, a groundhog in the middle of summer. Note the flowers.
So, what does kitchen and bath remodels have to do with Groundhog Day? Not much. But groundhogs are kinda cute and February 2 is their day. Arm yourself with the following facts so you can sound knowledgeable on Feb 2; impress your friends.
Groundhog and Groundhog day factoids:
Groundhog is another name for the woodchuck. They are large rodents, related to squirrels, and can climb trees and swim.
They have great eyesight and sensitive hearing. They weigh about 8 lbs and are excellent diggers. They dwell in burrows underground. – but I guess everyone knows that.
On February 2 Groundhog Day, we are halfway between the winter solstice (December) and the vernal equinox (March). It is around the time groundhogs end their hibernation.
They hibernate in their burrows with a body temperature of around 40 degrees F. Except for the really cold body temp, sleeping through winter has a big appeal to lots of people. Maybe that’s why we have Groundhog Day?
When they are awake they eat succulent green plants, dandelion greens, clover, plantain and grasses, as well as your vegetable garden, natch. They stuff themselves during the summer and reach maximum weight in August. By October they are lethargic and ready to hibernate, losing about half their weight during hibernation.
What happens if you wake the groundhog too soon
In Alabama, you can get a plumbing company called Ground Hog Plumbing. I think they may have a lot of groundhogs in Alabama.
You can see a very funny movie with Bill Murray, called Groundhog Day. Very funny.
OK, what’s it all mean? The beast comes out of his/her burrow: No shadow (cloudy day) means an early spring. Shadow (sunny day) means winter for another 6 weeks.
Must be an east coast things, because sunny where I live means its warmer! Usually.
Oh, and maybe you might want to think about your next remodel project. Do you have company coming to visit next summer? Add a guest bathroom.
