And the small furry mammal says...

Yes folks, it's Groundhog Day, that annual festival when we all take a break from the daily drudgery of our lives to pay attention to that soothsayer of soothsayers, that prognosticator of prognosticators, the one, the only Punxsutawney Phil! And I do mean one and only - pop along to groundhog.org (the official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club), peruse the faq for a moment and you'll discover that the groundhog making today's prediction has been on the job since the very beginning, over 120 years ago. Now you might be wondering how such a thing is possible since that's some way beyond the natural lifespan of your common or garden average groundhog. Well folks, it's all there in black and white in the faq (so it must be true): "Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking 'groundhog punch' a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life." There you go - secrete groundhog punch. Bet you didn't know that!

But never mind all that now. The most important question, and the one I know you've all been waiting for, is whether we're in for six more weeks of winter or not. Well, I'm afraid Phil did indeed catch sight of his shadow this morning, which as I'm sure you all know well and true, means that we're in for a lengthier winter.

Hey now, don't blame me for the bad news - I don't make the rules. Talk to the groundhog, 'kay! Sheesh - don't you all know not to shoot the messenger?