Be Prepared

We seem to have been having storm after storm lately.   I’ve been stuck indoors because I strained my back and I’ve got cabin fever.  I’ve hardly been out in a week and a half, as it is so icy and I don’t want to aggravate my back further by slipping and/or falling.

Yesterday was Groundhog Day - marked both here and in the United States with a ‘weather prediction’ based on whether the groundhog sees its shadow.  According to legend, if the groundhog emerges from its den and sees its shadow, we can expect another six weeks of winter.

Nova Scotia’s Schubenacadie Sam predicted a faster onset of spring than his ‘cousin’ Wiarton Willie, in Wiarton, Ontario, who saw his shadow.  This agreed with Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania when he saw his shadow.

When you think about it, it isn’t much of a prediction, as we are actually at the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  I’d be happy if winter could be over in six weeks, but I suspect that it will be longer than this.

And in case you are wondering about the relevance of the photo, Storm Chips have become the phenomenon of the Maritime provinces.  It seems that Maritimers are huge consumers of potato chips/crisps and they like to stockpile their supplies whenever bad weather is forecast.  We hadn’t come across these before so, purely in the interest of research, I bought a bag and I have to admit that they are really rather good.