Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday which means that we will be having 6 more weeks of winter. Are there groundhogs in Utah? Would you rather have 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring? Do you have an interesting groundhog fact that you would like to share with us?
Yes, groundhogs or woodchucks live in Utah. I grew up in Ohio and we called them woodchucks. They are the largest member of the squirrel family, look out Scaredy Squirrel, and they can climb trees and swim. I am so over winter, and completely ready for spring!
Groundhogs hibernate which is just what I would like to be doing this time of year. What a glorious day it is today! I am very interested in ending this icky winter so we can have better air.
We always walk our dog in the park above Ensign Elementary. It is riddled with groundhog holes, to the dismay of the people, but my dog is in heaven and his hound nose is in every hole -- he just KNOWS he's going to get one some day (been trying for 10 years)
I will always vote for an early spring. The time between January and Spring Break seems to sslllloooowww to almost a stop and I can barely get through each day without counting how many days, weeks, hours and seconds until spring break. It is just too cold and dark for me. A word about groundhogs: Did you know that in Louisana they use Nutria instead (because of no groundhogs). They are ugly little rodents with long orange teeth. They use baby ones, because they are cuter, to see if they can see their shadow.
February 2nd is marked Groundhog’s Day not just because it’s a fun date, but it’s a date that falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, according to History.com
I would love to see an early Spring, however, I also would love to see green, not brown, this summer. We need the snow to give us the water. I guess I can't have it both ways, huh.
Sorry to contradict so many of you, but we DON'T have Groundhogs in Utah. A check on the Utah Conservation Data Center website - run by the Utah DWR - reveals nothing under the name of Groundhog, Woodchuck, or under the scientific name of Marmota monax. And the range map given on Wikipedia - how it hurts to site that source - shows that their range ends about Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakotas. We have Ground squirrels, Pikas, Badgers, Gophers and Prarie dogs - including one species that is found only in Utah, but no Ground hogs. In the town of Sunset Ut. they celebrate Groundhog day with a gopher - named Sunset Sam. It is said that if he sees the sunset, then we are in for 6 more weeks of winter. We really haven't had winter this year - temperatures have been about normal, but so very little snow. As a teenager I remember the norm when I went to Kamas in the winter was to climb over a 10 foot pile of snow along the side of the road, and then through 3+ feet of drifted snow to get to our cabin. and that was in the valley - not the hills. My brother lives there now, and says they have been getting very little for the last several years. I love the snow, and I love winter. I would rather have winter and then a clean break to spring, than have it back and forth. My garden and fruit trees do better that way. If I am cold and look out and see white - that's just great. But if all I see is brown and green - something is very wrong!
I walked in the glorious sunshine on Feb. 2nd. It lifted my spirits to see the blue sky and this morning I drove in the snow. We really need 6 more weeks of snow so we have enough water. But I would love to have blue skies with the snow.
Punxsutawney Phil was so interesting to me on the blog last year that I looked him up again yesterday to share in my weekly Sunday email to my grandson who is on a mission in Manchester, England and Wales. I told him about the absolutely sunny day on Saturday, but somehow the weather on Feb. 2 always seems to favor Punxsutawney Phil going back into his burrow for another six weeks of winter.
Yes, groundhogs or woodchucks live in Utah. I grew up in Ohio and we called them woodchucks. They are the largest member of the squirrel family, look out Scaredy Squirrel, and they can climb trees and swim. I am so over winter, and completely ready for spring!
ReplyDeleteGroundhogs hibernate which is just what I would like to be doing this time of year. What a glorious day it is today! I am very interested in ending this icky winter so we can have better air.
ReplyDeleteWe always walk our dog in the park above Ensign Elementary. It is riddled with groundhog holes, to the dismay of the people, but my dog is in heaven and his hound nose is in every hole -- he just KNOWS he's going to get one some day (been trying for 10 years)
ReplyDeleteMore winter as long as we get some beautiful snow storms. I'm tired of grey and sick of the inversion.
ReplyDeleteI will always vote for an early spring. The time between January and Spring Break seems to sslllloooowww to almost a stop and I can barely get through each day without counting how many days, weeks, hours and seconds until spring break. It is just too cold and dark for me. A word about groundhogs: Did you know that in Louisana they use Nutria instead (because of no groundhogs). They are ugly little rodents with long orange teeth. They use baby ones, because they are cuter, to see if they can see their shadow.
ReplyDeleteFebruary 2nd is marked Groundhog’s Day not just because it’s a fun date, but it’s a date that falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, according to History.com
ReplyDeleteUtah should offer a Groundhog Day of the West!!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see an early Spring, however, I also would love to see green, not brown, this summer. We need the snow to give us the water. I guess I can't have it both ways, huh.
ReplyDeleteSorry to contradict so many of you, but we DON'T have Groundhogs in Utah. A check on the Utah Conservation Data Center website - run by the Utah DWR - reveals nothing under the name of Groundhog, Woodchuck, or under the scientific name of Marmota monax. And the range map given on Wikipedia - how it hurts to site that source - shows that their range ends about Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakotas.
ReplyDeleteWe have Ground squirrels, Pikas, Badgers, Gophers and Prarie dogs - including one species that is found only in Utah, but no Ground hogs.
In the town of Sunset Ut. they celebrate Groundhog day with a gopher - named Sunset Sam. It is said that if he sees the sunset, then we are in for 6 more weeks of winter.
We really haven't had winter this year - temperatures have been about normal, but so very little snow. As a teenager I remember the norm when I went to Kamas in the winter was to climb over a 10 foot pile of snow along the side of the road, and then through 3+ feet of drifted snow to get to our cabin. and that was in the valley - not the hills. My brother lives there now, and says they have been getting very little for the last several years. I love the snow, and I love winter. I would rather have winter and then a clean break to spring, than have it back and forth. My garden and fruit trees do better that way. If I am cold and look out and see white - that's just great. But if all I see is brown and green - something is very wrong!
Thank you, Joseph. I didn't think we had Groundhogs; I knew we had ground squirrels - just go to Snowbird in the summer.
DeleteI vote for more snow, too. I just want to keep it in the mountains so I don't have to drive home from work in a snow storm.
ReplyDeleteI walked in the glorious sunshine on Feb. 2nd. It lifted my spirits to see the blue sky and this morning I drove in the snow. We really need 6 more weeks of snow so we have enough water. But I would love to have blue skies with the snow.
ReplyDeleteWho is Anonymous? I thought we were all open on this blog.
ReplyDeletePunxsutawney Phil was so interesting to me on the blog last year that I looked him up again yesterday to share in my weekly Sunday email to my grandson who is on a mission in Manchester, England and Wales. I told him about the absolutely sunny day on Saturday, but somehow the weather on Feb. 2 always seems to favor Punxsutawney Phil going back into his burrow for another six weeks of winter.
ReplyDelete