Groundhog ready for forecast

Every year on February 2, a little furry weather forecaster exits his burrow and surveys the conditions to determine if we will see an early end to winter, or if we have six more weeks to suffer!

The most famous of these prognosticators is Punxsutawney Phil, world famous weather predictor from Gobbler’s Knob. If you’ve ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, you know the scene. This is not a new occurrence, as Phil (or at least one of his relatives) has been making a spring prediction since 1887. Since that time, Phil has not shined in his predictions, being only correct half of the time.

According to the History Channel, Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be.

Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal–the hedgehog–as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.

Groundhogs are not the only animal predictors. In Vermillion, Ohio a little caterpillar called a woolly bear, according to tradition, can determine the severity of winter. If the woolly bears have more orange than black coloring in autumn, the upcoming winter will be mild.

Without easy access to a groundhog, like Phil (even though groundhogs, or woodchucks are native to Oklahoma) Lawtonians have turned their predicting to Elmo the Elmer Thomas Park prairie dog.

While I choose to listen to Meteorologists at the National Weather Service, or the writers of the Old Farmer’s Almanac for my weather outlook, some would say, they are all about the same!

So, whoever or whatever you choose, keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow will bring a shadowless day, since we are all ready for some warmer weather.

Ducks Unlimited dinner — The Lawton/Ft. Sill chapter of Ducks Unlimited will hold its annual fundraising dinner Saturday, February 9, 6:00 at the Medicine Park Music Hall. Tickets are available now online.

This is a great event to join with other outdoor folks, swap stories, eat some good food, bid on some great items, participate in raffles and support ducks and conservation.

Tickets are $50 each or $80 for a couple, and youth get in for $20. Included with that ticket is a great meal and cold drinks. The chapter is also seeking sponsors for tables to help with the event.

Several games, drawings and raffles will be held throughout the evening with prizes ranging from DU coolers to duck hunting supplies to guns. Raffle packages will be sold at the door.

Proceeds from DU events go to fund critical North American wetland projects, like the Hackberry Flat project, near Frederick, Oklahoma or the Mountain Park wetland project at Tom Steed Lake. They also fund kids programs like Green Wings kids.

To purchase tickets go to https://ducksunlimited.myeventscenter.com. Or to become more involved with Ducks Unlimited, call Jeremiah (803-818-7486) or Michell (817-723-9968).

Tax Refund for Wildlife — Oklahomans receiving a refund this tax season can champion the wild by donating all or a portion of their refund to the Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Diversity Program. Tax refund donations can be made on Schedule 511-H of the 2023 state return, which must be filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission by April 15, 2024.

Income Tax Form 511 is available from the Oklahoma Tax Commission webpage, oklahoma.gov/tax, along with free filing options. The state income tax filing season will open on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.