When I went outside this morning, I was reminded of the old John Denver tune which begins “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy ….”

Yes, indeed – there was sunshine on my shoulders and also glinting off my eyeglasses. Even the snow was sparkling.  And, that’s all good, right?

Yesterday we were blessed with sunshine as well, and, it was wonderful, even though I was bundled up to the hilt and hefting another couple of inches of snow.

We sure deserved to see some of the sun’s rays because we only had two days of sunshine the entire month of January.

But, as the title of this blog post proclaims: “Good news, bad news …” so, now for the bad news.

Today is Groundhog Day and Philadelphia’s Punxsutawney Phil waddled out of his burrow at Gobbler’s Knot and saw his shadow, which, as you probably know, means Winter weather will continue another six weeks.

Whether you believe in this folklore or not, face the facts … we are in the heart of the Winter season and Winter weather is not exiting soon.

This is disheartening news to those, like me, who aren’t Winter sports enthusiasts, or, are Winter wienies about driving around in the white stuff. This morning, once again, I left the house in lug-soled boots, not walking shoes, due to black ice conditions, so, it’s back to the exercise bike to tide me over to the next walk, whenever that might be.

Of course, all the meteorologists like to laugh off the whole business of Groundhog Day and the furry rodent’s annual prediction.

Well, they might laugh at ol’ Phil’s record (with just 39% accuracy), but, they should not pooh-pooh Michigan’s own furry weather prognosticator, Woody the Woodchuck, who lives in the Howell Nature Center, and has a considerably more accurate record as to wintry weather predictions than does Phil. That fact might bruise Phil’s ego because Woody is actually a “she” – so there!  Phil, a rather grouchy varmint, gets all the notoriety, and, is quite the media sensation, along with his handler, (who always dons a top hat and tails for the occasion).  I’ll bet this duo garners a bigger audience than T.V.’s Dr. Phil.

This year Woody concurred with Phil, so we doubly assured Winter is here for the long haul.

Whether you get your weather info from a groundhog, woodchuck, Click on Detroit or The Weather Channel, it’s a fairly good bet that we have not seen the last of Winter’s characteristic snow, ice and cold temps.

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.   ~ John Boswell