View Full Version : Groundhog Day today..predicted more winter.
SurferNerd
02-02-2010, 15:16
So its true if you believe the cute little rodent.. 6 more weeks of winter. Ugh, I'm tired of the snow here in Nashville. For those of us starting the AT in the next few weeks, good luck, its been bitter cold and snowy lately.
Pedaling Fool
02-02-2010, 18:55
I know it's just a silly tradition, but some take it a little too far; probably the same type of people that think there's actually a mother nature looking over us.
But...it sure does feel like winter will be around a little longer this year, hope I'm wrong.
I'm a big fan of winter, so I'm a fan of Phil this year. That said, I've been wanting to get out hiking, and I am looking forward to the warmer weather, even if I'm still loving the cold weather. :sun
Phil is only right 39% of the time. He (or the many itterations of Phil ;)) has seen his shadow 99 times, and not seen his shadow only 16 times.
Oh and by the way. The calendar in my house says that there are six more weeks of winter too :D
sasquatch2014
02-02-2010, 19:06
I am no ground hog but having been sleeping out in the Pa woods most of last week I could have told you that it is still definitely winter. I am a bit furry so maybe I am closer to a groundhog that I would like to believe.:eek:
fiddlehead
02-02-2010, 19:06
I went to groundhog day one time about 10 years ago.
It is big fun and a lasting and cold party that builds and builds until Phil comes out and does his thing around 6 AM.
Then everyone disperses immediately.
johnnybgood
02-02-2010, 20:03
I went to groundhog day one time about 10 years ago.
It is big fun and a lasting and cold party that builds and builds until Phil comes out and does his thing around 6 AM.
Then everyone disperses immediately.
:-? Hmmm, all that just to witness a rodent thats wrong 61% of the time.
thelowend
02-02-2010, 21:47
spring is a state of mind! hop to it if your ready, screw that rat.
Our local weather prognosticator (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=770817&postcount=7) has never failed to deliver an accurate forecast. It's not surprising Phil's keepers refuse to acknowledge his superior skill.
Erin just wanted to see who's paying attention. Uni never sees his shadow, but witnessing the annual event is a good excuse to get out of the house.
SurferNerd
02-02-2010, 21:56
It's a myth, but as stated above..he's always proven to be accurate in his findings.
Chicken Feathers
02-02-2010, 23:11
it's not a myth if he see his shadow it is 7 weeks to spring if he does not see his shadow it is 42 days to spring. :-?
sasquatch2014
02-02-2010, 23:34
In everycase so far spring is fallowed by summer which is followed by the time of free Candy!:banana
SurferNerd
02-03-2010, 00:20
In everycase so far spring is fallowed by summer which is followed by the time of free Candy!:banana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUPgqqIuno0
camojack
02-03-2010, 08:01
The calendar in my house says that there are six more weeks of winter too :D
Indeed...and it's no coincidence. The whole thing is a scam... :sun
(Like Global Warming™/Climate Change™ :eek:)
Pedaling Fool
02-03-2010, 09:38
Poor Phil being bashed by some in the media because he's being touted, by some very superstitious among us, as a prognosticator of winter/spring turnover. We should remind ourselves of the real soothsayers – meteorologists. I watch the weather channel for entertainment.
What requires more believing in superstitions, watching an overgrown rat look for his shadow or watching the weather channel?
6 more weeks is pretty much a given up here.
I go more by the weather of the first few days of March.
In like a lion, out like a lamb. In like a lamb, out like a lion.
-22C, -8F last night. I did a 21k 2.5 hour run/walk. Nice moon.
If Phil sees his shadow, you'll be watching a charming, low key comedy starring Bill Murray at least once in the next six weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_yDWQsrajA
SurferNerd
02-03-2010, 13:03
If Phil sees his shadow, you'll be watching a charming, low key comedy starring Bill Murray at least once in the next six weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_yDWQsrajA
OMG, I pray that wasn't real
OMG, I pray that
wasn't real
You've never seen or heard of Ground Hog day?!?!?!?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
It's not a great movie, but it is a very enjoyable one. Well worth renting or streaming....
JustaTouron
02-03-2010, 13:21
You've never seen or heard of Ground Hog day?!?!?!?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
It's not a great movie, but it is a very enjoyable one. Well worth renting or streaming....
Its worth watching once......or to get the true sense of the movie, get up real early and watch it 11 times in one day.
Buzz_Lightfoot
02-03-2010, 13:44
:-? Hmmm, all that just to witness a rodent thats wrong 61% of the time.
No worse than other weather forcasters. :-?
Buzz_Lightfoot
02-03-2010, 13:47
I know it's just a silly tradition, but some take it a little too far; probably the same type of people that think there's actually a mother nature looking over us.
But...it sure does feel like winter will be around a little longer this year, hope I'm wrong.
It's not Mother Nature I worry about but Father Time. :eek:
Pedaling Fool
02-03-2010, 14:03
It's not Mother Nature I worry about but Father Time. :eek:
I pray to father time, not working so far, maybe I need more faith:D
Buzz_Lightfoot
02-04-2010, 14:14
I pray to father time, not working so far, maybe I need more faith:D
Pray hard enough and maybe my grey hair willl turn brown again!
SurferNerd
02-04-2010, 14:31
You've never seen or heard of Ground Hog day?!?!?!?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
It's not a great movie, but it is a very enjoyable one. Well worth renting or streaming....
Wow, looks like I've got something to watch this evening.. Looks awkward. Thanks for the tip.
So its true if you believe the cute little rodent.. 6 more weeks of winter. Ugh, I'm tired of the snow here in Nashville. For those of us starting the AT in the next few weeks, good luck, its been bitter cold and snowy lately.
Wow. What great news. Only six more weeks of winter. Just think folks, winter is ending by mid March this year -- a couple of weeks earlier than usual here on the coast of Maine.
Weary
I personally like winter. :)
What great news. Only six more weeks of winter.
Weary
Weary, you need to tune into your local chuck. He's still sleeping and didn't even bother to crawl out of his burrow. Maine's woodchucks sleep below the frostline in a state of torpor to avoid chucking wood.
Only monkeys and silly rabbits chuck wood.
Spring always comes early to Pennsylvania's Green Diamond, long before it reaches coastal Maine.
Weary, you need to tune into your local chuck. He's still sleeping and didn't even bother to crawl out of his burrow. Maine's woodchucks sleep below the frostline in a state of torpor to avoid chucking wood.
Only monkeys and silly rabbits chuck wood.
Spring always comes early in Pennsylvania's Green Diamond, long before it reaches coastal Maine. If it didn't, the water pipets and loons would never leave.
Actually yesterday was a beautiful spring day. We had a few snow flakes in the morning. But the afternoon was great as I wandered across a beaver flowage in bright sunshine to see how some bog bridging around the dam had survived recent heavy rains that melted 18 inches of snow. The bridging had remained solidly in place, despite all the naysayers who predicted it would all quickly wash away.
The day was so great that I continued up a hill to an undeveloped pond, chatted with a guy trapping shiners under the ice to sell, and visited a frozen waterfall. A delightful two hours in the woods.
weary
It's been beautiful here too. Yesterday, a little more than an inch of snow fell, the kind that rests where it fell in the trees the night before and sparkles when sun rises and warms the still morning air.
I personally like winter. :)
That is because you are twisted.
It was a fine day in Maine yesterday. Pretty nice out today, out of the wind.
Might see the ground someday, but for now sunlight will do.
camojack
02-05-2010, 02:31
I personally like winter. :)
You can have it, then...I'm off to Hawaii. :bse
You can have it, then...I'm off to Hawaii. :bse
I'll take fresh powder, the Colorado Rockies, my thermos filled with a hot drink and an alpine lake over the beach and surf. Seriously.
In fact, I'll do that tomorrow morning. And Saturday. :)
That is because you are twisted.
Why I love winter:
:)
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2091/215/82/563440020/n563440020_2415659_8635.jpg
I like being twisted. ;)
camojack
02-05-2010, 08:02
I'll take fresh powder, the Colorado Rockies, my thermos filled with a hot drink and an alpine lake over the beach and surf. Seriously.
It's not all "beach and surf"; I'd get bored rather quickly if it was. :rolleyes:
An "alpine lake", did you say? Hawaii has that (http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Hikes.lake) too. :p
Maybe I'll go hike there next week. Seriously... :D
Skiable snow is a bit scarce in the tropics, though. ;) Plus, you may visit..but I live here! :P
I pray to father time, not working so far, maybe I need more faith:D
I also so pray to father time. I'm amazed about how well it's working. I sometimes think I'm the only 80 year old that is still hiking on the 30 plus miles of trails on protected land in this small town.
The closest may be a 79-year-old woman, who I love to hike with. She is immensely curious. She inspects every animal track, every beaver lodge, and the tracks surround it. Trying to determine who lives there, who may like to eat the inhabitants.
She's about the only person I'm comfortable walking with these days. She can outwalk me easily. But all her stops allow me to catch my breath, and pretend that I'm equally fit.
Weary
....I like being twisted. ;)
As do I. I don't climb high summits in winter anymore. But winter is an ideal time to walk in the woods. No mosquitoes, no black flies. No roots and rocks. Just gentle incline planes though the snow, ideally beaten down by a friendly snowmobiler.
camojack
02-06-2010, 02:31
Skiable snow is a bit scarce in the tropics, though. ;) Plus, you may visit..but I live here! :P
Actually, since you brought it up, people do snow ski on Mauna Kea (http://www.skimountaineer.com/ROF/ROF.php?name=MaunaKea) sometimes. :eek:
(Go ahead, click on the link)
As for Colorado, I'm here now as well; my mother lives here too. ;)
(I am using her computer at the moment, in fact)
I've got an 11:33 AM flight out of Denver, direct to Kona... :p