Happy Groundhog Day! Because we are on a one-week tape delay from pen to printer to mailbox/newsstand, I can only guess if the Groundhog saw his shadow today. I did some research and Punxsutawney Phil is 103 – 18 – 10. Translated: He saw his shadow 103 times meaning there was going to be six more weeks of winter; 18 times when he did not see his shadow, meaning that spring was near; and 10 times when no result was recorded.

Pinning our hopes on an overgrown rodent and the sun, or lack thereof, seems like a dicey way to gauge the length of our winter. That is especially true since win or lose, winter is going to drag on no matter what. Honestly, I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to what a groundhog does or sees. For me, the bigger/better sign of hope is “The Postcard.”

“The Postcard” is the notice sent out every winter by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources informing all lucky turkey hunting applicants that they were successful in receiving a spring turkey hunting permit. That permit provides an instant vision in my mind of a strutting tom gobbling in the