Sunrise/Clouds ~ Geese ~ Predictions ~ Picture of the Day ~ Paralympic Games ~ John & Trish Bowler ~ National Groundhog Day

 

Good 40º cloudy morning. 

A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter! 

 

 

Here was sunrise yesterday morning....

 

 

Then later...

 

And the geese up on the barn roof honking and honking!

 

 

Yesterday high winds and rain were predicted. We got rain but not high winds, thankfully. 

 

 

 

 

Picture of the Day.... 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnt_Corn,_Alabama

 

 

 

Interesting about Paralympics....

The Paralympic Games or Paralympics are a periodic series of international multi-sport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power (e.g. paraplegia and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida), impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency (e.g. amputation or dysmelia), leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Paralympics has grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948 to become one of the largest international sporting events by the early 21st century. The Paralympics has grown from 400 athletes with a disability from 23 countries in 1960 to thousands of competitors from over 100 countries at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Paralympians strive for equal treatment with non-disabled Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

 

 

Special Anniversary today... pals John (LASD ret) and Trish Bowler are celebrating their 58th. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KIDS!!!

 

Historically this date.....

1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.

 

 

1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco, California.

 

1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.

 

1976 – The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.

 

1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.

 

And births this date include... 

 

1937 – Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian 

 

 

 

 

1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress (d. 2009) 

 

 

 

Here is a picture I took of her in Acapulco when I was working for Fabergé and we represented her line of hair products... 

 

 

 

 

1948 – Ina Garten, American author and TV personality 

 

 

 

 

1954 – Christie Brinkley, American model

 

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Tuesday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Groundhog Day on February 2nd each year asks one question. Will he see his shadow? Ok, well maybe it asks another question. Will there be six more weeks of winter?

Groundhog Day is observed on February 2nd, each year in the United States and Canada.  For a nice welcomed break during the winter, on this day the groundhog awakens from his nap and goes outside to see if he can see his shadow.  It is believed by many that if the groundhog sees his shadow that there will then be six more weeks of winter. If this is so,  he then retrieves back into his den and goes back to sleep.  If he is not able to see his shadow, the groundhog remains outside to play and people celebrate believing that spring is just around the corner.

The tradition of predicting the length of the remaining winter is intertwined with the Christian holiday, Candlemas. Clergy would bless candles symbolizing the ‘light of the world’ to give to their congregations.  Another tradition associated with this day is eating crepes.  Germans practiced the art of predicting the winter with a hedgehog until their arrival in the United States when they settled in the hills of Pennsylvania, and the groundhog became the official predictor.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been chosen as the site for the annual Groundhog day event.  Thousands of people come to the town of Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day for this day of celebration.

Although already a well known day, Groundhog Day received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and portrayed Roger Rininger as the groundhog.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Check if the groundhog has seen its shadow. You can also watch the movie Groundhog Day. Read the Farmer’s Almanac to find out the likelihood of an early spring. Share your predictions on whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow.

NATIONAL GROUND HOG DAY HISTORY

An early American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, by storekeeper James Morris, dated February 4th, 1841, of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

“Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”