Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Groundhog's Day 2011 In our Corner of Montana

The children noticed in the headlines, that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, this morning. Well, that's great for Pennsylvanians, I hope they enjoy their early spring.

But, here in our corner of Montana, it was too cold to even get our groundhog (or marmot as we like to call him) to agree to go outside. It was -2 degrees Fahrenheit, this morning, or about -18 for you folks who prefer Celsius.

It didn't matter though, because even protesting on the kitchen table, it was clear he could see his shadow. Six more weeks of winter for us, if we decide to trust the prediction of a paper rock chuck, anyway.


We checked the online newspapers from the "major cities" around the state, Helena, Missoula, Great Falls, Butte, Bozeman, and Billings, and all the groundhogs agreed. It was too cold to go out, but if they had, they all would have seen their shadows, with the exception of maybe in Billings, where they have a partial cloud cover, today.

For groundhog forecasts from around the country, click over to Groundhog Central, at groundhogsday.com, or at least for a list of famous groundhogs, with their links. It looks to me like the predictions on the site are not current.

Or, for more geographical, and historical fun, be sure to check out this week's History and Geography link-up, at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

10 comments:

Anneke said...

I am sure your predictions with your paper ground hog are just as accurate as the real one, lol. Where I come from they said that the groundhog did not see his shadow, but I have a feeling we are still going to have six more weeks of winter here anyway.

Jessica Jones said...

Hi there-- found your blog recently and have been enjoying seeing all the neat projects you guys do every day. I didn't know you are in Montana... we are too. May I ask where you are in MT?

Jessica

Phyllis said...

That is so cute!

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Jessica - We're on the western side :)

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

Oh, I am sure groundhog would see its shadow here, but... we are enjoying flowering fruit trees at the moment :)

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Raising a Happy Child - Yes, in The Groundhog Weather School, the California "groundhog" was really a skunk :)

Anonymous said...

oh man it's cold in your neck of the woods! I'm a southern girl and our 30-40 degrees has me begging for spring. I'm afraid I'd be a real wimp in Montana.

Debbie said...

I tend to believe your paper ground hog. I don't see any signs here that this winter weather is ready to give way to spring anytime soon. Thank you for linking up this week.

Ticia said...

No shadows here.

We actually have a slight chance of snow tonight....... We'll see.

Christy Killoran said...

Too funny! It is pretty cold here, but we are above zero. Stay warm!