They're Here!

This is the year of the cicada, and they're here!

If you haven't seen these red-eyed little creatures, you don't know what you're missing. They are everywhere! They crawl up out of the ground and up trees, posts, shed their skins and make an awful noise.

What's worse, is many of them are coming up right through my home! I can't get a night's sleep without feeling a cicada squirm up underneath me, or chirp incessantly outside my door.

On the bright side, they don't taste bad at all.

Bedtime for Groundhog

Snow! On October 12th, in Northeastern Illinois, there is snow falling outside my burrow!

Normally, I have until mid-November to stuff myself silly before I hibernate -- I've even been known to make it till Thanksgiving (love those pumpkin pies!), but I usually don't see any snow before I tuck myself in.

Okay, I know you're all thinking, "You're supposed to be the great weatherman, prognosticator, seer, and all that stuff. But people forget that my prediction skills are limited to a single day and a single forecast. It's called Groundhog Day for a reason. I don't pretend to have any special powers beyond foretelling an early spring or not.

The main reason I hibernate is because I really hate snow.

Okay, wiseguys, I hear you out there. "If you hate snow, why don't you move to Caliornia or Florida?" Have you checked out my Habitat Map? I don't range that far south. Can't fight nature, you know.

Speaking of which (yawn) these freezing temperatures are really making me sleepy. I'll be setting my alarm clock for February 2nd, with 6 weeks on the snooze button.