I’ve learned to pay attention to my resident Ground Hog, Keeps-a-talking Phyllis. On February 2nd, she saw her shadow, and I took it seriously. At the end of the month, I resisted the impulse to clean and store my Weapons of Snow Destruction. Good thing, too, because March brought us 8 inches of Insurgent Winter. I also left my warm coat, mittens and boots by the door, in case there was an emergency snowman construction situation. The previous one had melted into a mere puddle, and some creature had carried off his shriveled up carrot-nose. But, I believed Keeps-a-talking and you see? She was right!

Here we are now, on the downhill side of the vernal equinox, but still, I am wary of too much optimism. After all, I have not yet seen the proverbial “first robin”, nor have I heard the drumming of the harbinger woodpecker. And, most importantly, the juncos haven’t left yet. On the other hand, the forsythia is budding, and we have had warmer days. And even Phyllis is venturing out more. I saw her the other day, when the temperature rose above 60 for the first time, and honestly, I could swear she winked at me.

So, I guess you could say I’m like a hardcore Harley Davidson owner…

I love and trust my Hog.