Happy Groundhog Day!

You know that tongue twister –

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Groundhogs are also known as Woodchucks.  The groundhog is a member of a group of large ground squirrels called marmots, but they’re also called land beavers and woodchucks. Surprisingly, the name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood, It’s believed to be taken from the Algonquian name for the same animal: wuchak.

The groundhog is a vegetarian with a diet consisting mainly of grass, herbs, and plants like dandelions, daisies, and goldenrods. They also have an eye for human crops, like carrots and corn, which puts them on farmers’ list of Most Wanted. And yes, they do occasionally eat tree bark, as we all hoped woodchucks would.

Groundhogs are a uniquely North American native so our special Groundhog holiday is very American.  Most groundhogs live in eastern and central United States, although you can find them in Canada and even Alaska. They tend to settle down on the edge of a forest or woodland near an open field, where they’ll likely construct their underground burrows. 

They are big burrowers and make dens underground sometimes along building foundations. These are pretty impressive homes. Their underground burrows include multiple “rooms” with different purposes, including a sleeping chamber, a nursery chamber, and a waste chamber (what we would call a bathroom). The entire burrow can stretch anywhere from eight to 66 feet long.

So how did they become the symbol of coming Spring?  It is because they are true hibernators.  They hibernate from late fall to late winter or early spring, which can add up to as many as six months of deep sleep, depending on their climate. During this time, their body temperatures can drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and their heart rates slow from 80 beats per minute to just five. So when they wake up it really is Spring!

Holy Cow it snowed on Groundhog DAY!

Holy Cow we had a lot of snow!  I grew up in the snowbelt and am not afraid of a blizzard, but the snow that fell in Chicago last week left me speechless, and powerless.

We lost power for a significant length of time during the storm which started on Tuesday afternoon and snowed continuously until about 3 AM Wednesday, dropping between 20 and 22 inches.  The enitre area was closed on Wednesday -- UPS and the USPS did not deliver that day and USPS did not resume delivery until Friday.  I live in an apartment, but the snow piled up on my car so deeply that you could not see it. 

Here are some photos so you can get the impact of it.



This is a view out one set of windows into the courtyard




Another courtyard, if you look between the pines you will see a mound of white, that's my car!



You can see the drift to the right (above) and in the picture to the left someone has dug out their patio so you can see how much snow there is piled up!





This is the sidewalk out front, those posts are 36 to 42 inches tall and only the top 4 inches are uncovered.

 I love snow and I did not have to drive in this so I feel very lucky.  I had to teach on Thursday at 7:30 AM, but it only took us just over an hour to get there (normal 25 minutes) so we thought that was rather good.  My husband stayed away from his office until Friday.

Here is a close up of the car, you cannot even tell it is dark green!

Sometime soon I will venture over to the gardens and see if I can get a picture of them under a blanket of snow.  We are going to have a deep cold spell for the rest of the week, so I am glad the herbs are buried under all that snow protection!

Happy Winter (no shadow though!!)



Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh