Marmota monax

According to http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/, the official website of THE Groundhog's Day groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil:

"Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/08 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008,
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,
rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes
and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll,
which proclaimed:

'As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!' "

Freakin' groundhog.

Most people who know me know that I actually really kind of love Groundhog's Day. It's such a bizarre little holiday, if you think about it: we're listening to a rodent tell us if we're going to be snowed in for another month or two, or if instead spring is going to be sprung soon. It's a rodent, people, aka the groundhog, the woodchuck, the marmot, the land beaver, and the ground squirrel. Though some say that the day's observance originated in England, this is pretty much a load of hooey because, as far as we know, there ARE no groundhogs in England -- they are native to North America. Really the holiday stems from poems/sayings regarding Candlemas Day and Imbolc (the first, a major Christian holy day; the second, one of the four major pagan holy days, both observed on/around Feb. 2) which essentially advise farmers that the weather on Candlemas/Imbolc will determine oncoming weather for the season.

I love that Americans (particularly those of us in the Northeast where the snow seems neverending) have somehow co-opted the day and have taken all of these traditional poems and celebrations -- none of which refer to the furry little critter anywhere (though ancient Imbolc sayings DO reference snakes) -- and since 1886 or so have decided to pin our hope and dreams of green grass and summer tans on a big, fat GROUND SQUIRREL. It just seems uniquely American to me, somehow.

Anyhow, happy Groundhog's Day, my friends. Stay warm, stay bundled, because the little rodent saw his shadow and now we're in for six more weeks. If, you know, you believe that kind of thing.

Here's to you, Punxsutawney Phil. Freakin' groundhog.