Michigan has its own groundhog, a female named Woody who lives at the Howell Nature Center. Unlike her more famous counterpart from Pennsylvania, Woody doesn't depend on her shadow. She apparently just gets a general impression, which is conveyed by how long she remains outdoors. When she comes out of her little house on February 2, if she hurries right back inside, that means more winter; if she stays out a while, she's going with an early spring.
This morning Woody stayed out well over 30 seconds -- so it looks like early spring in Michigan. Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow this morning, is predicting six more weeks of winter. Most other prognosticators -- Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin, General Beauregard Lee in Georgia, Buckeye Chuck in Ohio, Wiarton Willie in Ontario and Staten Island Chuck in New York -- agree with Woody. Only Malverne Mel in New York is on Phil's side.
Last year Phil said early spring, while Woody's prediction of a long winter came true, with significant snowfalls well into April. Although she is young (turning 14 this year) and, therefore, relatively new at this prediction stuff, Woody's record is much better than Phil's. He is right only 39% of the time, whereas Woody has made the correct call 9 of 13 times (70%).
Although our winter has been rather mild so far this year in Mid-Michigan, I'm hoping Woody has nailed it again, but either way -- if Groundhog Day comes, can spring be far behind?
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