Prophesy of the Ground Hog

Today is a favorite holiday of mine, as an animal lover. I wish there was also a dolphin day, a horse day, and a variegated skink day. Every creature deserves a day commemorated to him since all reflect the hand of the Creator. But since this is the one day that we pause and celebrate an animal, it captures my heart.

Groundhogs are large rodents, members of the squirrel family. While on first blush, it seems a little silly to think that this animal would have the intellect to accurately predict how many weeks of winter are left, it really is not as silly as it may seem. Groundhogs are one of the few animals that go into deep and true hibernation. This is why they are "ground" and not "tree" hogs. If you fall into a deep sleep in a tree, the probability of severe and irreversible damage due to falling is much more likely than if you are already on the ground when your body shuts down for the winter. They emerge from hibernation when the weather has started to warm to the degree that they can shovel their front walk without fear of slipping on ice and chipping their large front teeth. If they emerge and see their shadow, the folk lore tells us that winter will drag on another 6 weeks. The ground hog turns around and returns to its den, and its long winter nap. If no shadow is present, winter is due to end soon and the ground hog goes foraging for ground to hog if a groundhog could hog ground.
Interestingly, groundhogs have a pretty good internal clock with an alarm set to wake them up as soon as the daytime hours of light increase enough for them to be able to read the weather report. At that point, they weigh several salient factors in their weather prophesying, only one of which is whether they see their shadow. They have also been known to examine glacial melting rate and permafrost levels, which they cross reference with solar position as well as sales information from LL Bean really warm coat market. This is a little known fact, but certainly is the only explanation, scientists believe, for their remarkable accuracy in predicting the length of winter.

Groundhogs are not the only animal obsessed with predicting things. The well thumbed pages of the horoscope section of the newspaper indicates the raging desire to foretell the future.
Jesus Himself got a little fed up with the constant desire of people to see the future, but a marked rejection of the obvious salvation and hope right in front of their face:

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. ²He replied,^a]">"When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' ³and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matthew 16: 1-3.

So this Groundhog day, despite the rain falling and the high likelihood that there will be no shadow casting (at least for Charlotte groundhogs), I will still be looking for the Son and the light of hope that an early Spring symbolizes.