How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
How much ground does a groundhog grind if a groundhog could grind ground?
How many weeds does a whistlepig wolf when a whistlepig wants to wolf weeds?
No matter what you call the Marmota monax, the large rodent is really the largest member of the ground squirrel family. They hibernate in the winter, living off the fat they accumulate while chowing down from early Spring through mid-autumn.
Probably the most famous Ground Hog is Punxsutawney Phil. Every year on February 2 (Groundhog’s Day), they haul Phil out of his burrow in hopes that he will not see his shadow.
Groundhog Day is also known as Candlemas Day according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia includes English, Scottish, and German poems that celebrate Candlemas Day.
From England, the poem:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again
From Scotland, the poem:
If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year
From Germany, the poem:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May
In 1993, Bill Murray starred in the Groundhog Day Movie, where he played a weatherman who did not forecast a blizzard so he is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right. Although set in Punxsutawney, PA, much of the film was actually shot in Woodstock, IL. In 2016, Groundhog Day, the musical opened at the Old Vic in London and on Broadway in April 2017.
In 1996-1997 while American forces were deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Groundhog Day movie was a metaphor for every day seeming like the day before. That metaphor has also been applied to the weather in San Diego where allegedly ever day in the summer is sunny and 75, with a change to sunny and 65 in the winter. The famous H words–hazy, hot, and humid– exist but nobody acknowledges that.
Is your life a groundhog day? Have you ever been groundhog counting. (They are bigger than squirrels so they can be easier to spot.) Join in the conversation and share your favorite groundhog story.
Random thoughts….
Evil is live backwards.
Harry Potter started as a book, became a movie, and now how his own Wizarding World in both California and Florida. There are books, websites, and college classes that explore the concept of what 
Harry Potter means. He also has his own Pinterest pages, action figures, and other merchandise and social media tie-ins. J.K. Rowling is richer than the Queen of England according to the Daily Mail.
Many people also find magic in the natural world–the boundless, restless ocean; soaring majestic mountains; cathedral-like quiet of sun-dappled forests; stalking, staring predators, fragile, fluttering butterflies; fleeting fragrant flowers
School is about to start for many students from Kindergarten through Graduate School. Long gone are the days for many of us, when the Tuesday after Labor Day marked the beginning of the academic year.
essary backpack filled with school supplies. Churches, civic groups, and various charities all have Back to School fundraisers or parties to fill backpacks with donated items. (Note: we are not even talking the Christmas sales season where 
Does anyone go to school for the sheer pleasure of learning something new? What is study hall used for now? Was it ever a place to study or try to cram in the homework you didn’t finish the night before? Instead of trying to chat with your friends, is it now a place to text or surf the Internet?
When we visit the beach, many of us like to look for seashells or sea glass. Most of us have an almost childish need to collect the seashells or the sea glass. What
is the harm in taking just one shell or piece of glass? I have heard the justification for sea glass over sea shells because the glass is man made/sea burnished, but it was never alive.
vironmental repercussions. Shells provide a diverse swath of environmental functions: they help to stabilize beaches and anchor seagrass; they provide homes for creatures such as 
It’s not the word you are probably thinking. This word has two syllables. Does that help you guess?
There once was a girl from Nantucket
Since 1993, the Republicans and the Democrats have traded off White House residents every eight years. Each president has been considered unprecedented because of where he was from, his family background, his skin color, or the size of his bank account. Bush (1946), Clinton (1946), and Trump (1946) are early Boomers and Obama (1961) is a late Boomer. (Boomers were born between 1946-1964 according to Google and Wikipedia.)
were both lawyers. Bush worked in the oil industry and Trump worked in the real estate industry. All four are married and have children. Three of them also have grandchildren.
George Washington was our first president and he set many of the 
At the Cardinal Point Winery in Afton Virginia, I saw the sign attached to a half carafe next to the register, “Alms for the Pour” I thought it was a very clever take on a tips jar. Usually the message is Tips Make You Sexy or Are You Feeling Tipsy (which might have been a cause for concern in a winery.)
ople (pour people?)
remainder. If you use the spit jar too often you are less inclined to live alms in the tips jar.
Our first amendment guarantees us Freedom of Speech. “Congress shall make no law…abridging freedom of speech.”
Do we train ourselves to overeat? When you were a child did your parents tell you finish all of your food because children were starving in 1) Appalachia, 2) India, or 3) China? Did you ever really aspire to be a member of the Clean the Plate club? Were you an eager beaver at meal time? Let’s chew on this concept a bit.
Have you ever told a baby or small child to open his/her mouth to let the choo-choo come in when you are trying to get him/her to eat the next mouthful? Do you make chug chug and whistle noises while you do so?
