On 2 February 2009 in Canada and the U.S., the rodent prognosticators of Groundhog Day predicted six more weeks of winter. Apparently Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous woodchuck weatherman, makes that prediction most years, which is pretty safe since Spring doesn't officially arrive until 21 March in the Northern Hemisphere.
Groundhog Day, halfway through winter, was originally called Candlemas, and for centuries in Europe, people looked to the behaviour of badgers or bears or other hibernating animals on that day, to predict Spring's arrival. But our furry forecasters may now be caught off guard as much as the rest of us, by the speed with which our climate seems to be changing.
In February 2009 in Eastern Ontario we've had melting and rain which has wiped out most of the snow. See the above photo by David Ridgen, of my CJ-3B with Oconto Lake in the background. The good news is that the melting, followed by a few cold days, has turned the lake into a huge skating rink, and we don't even need to take the Jeep down to clear the snow off the ice. But Phil is probably right; I'm sure we'll need the plow again before 21 March.
Update for 2010: we barely got a winter in Eastern Ontario, while the southern U.S. got hammered. But the scariest part of climate change is how water is disappearing in some areas of the world. -- Derek Redmond
Thanks to David for the beautiful photo. See a 1200x800 copy (340K JPEG). Copyright David Ridgen 2009.
See more photos of My High Hood on The CJ3B Page.
See also other 1959 CJ-3B Owners and Photos.
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