The Day They Ate The Groundhog (Issue #39)
This week’s theme is Groundhog’s Day – surviving the winter, dreaming of spring, and respecting the relentless passing of time.
Hi friends!
I want you to imagine something for me:
You are a groundhog, complete with coarse fur and bottom teeth that grow up towards your nose. You do not speak English (obviously, you’re a groundhog), but you do know one word for certain: Phil. It’s what The Men in top hats call you. You like The Men, but you know not to trust them. You’ve heard the whispers – you’re not the first Phil.
Every summer, you attend a Groundhog picnic, where The Men serve you the “elixir of life.” They announce with glee - “7 more years of life for Phil!” They assure the children you are the same Phil who has lived in the town since 1886. The same Phil who first appeared on the “Today” Show in 1960, scampered through the White House in 1986, and charmed Oprah Winfrey in 1995. But you know the truth – when one Phil is finished, another Phil’s in. This year, you are that Phil.
You spend most days in “Phil’s Burrow,” a roadside zoo with a giant glass window for children to tap on. It isn’t all bad, though, as you live with another groundhog who keeps you company. Her name is Phyliss, and the tour guides call her your wife, despite never having had a groundhog-legal ceremony. The men don’t give Phyliss the “elixir of life,” and admit there have been many Phyliss’ over the years. In their lore, you are a 138-year-old immortal groundhog falling in love with a new, young Phyliss every handful of years. It’s all very Twilight.
Time passes strangely in the burrow. The lights never turn off. Your days of hibernation are over. One season blends into the next. And then comes February 2nd – Groundhog Day. In the morning, you and Phyliss spend a moment of silence reflecting on the one groundhog before “Phil” took over. The one who was killed and eaten by the men during the tragic “Groundhog Picnic” of 1887.
Soon, The Men come for you. They transport you to Gobbler’s Knob, where you’re placed inside a giant fake log with a tiny, wooden door. You sit inside as the crowd gathers. You hear the murmur of The Men grow into the roar of an audience.
Then comes the knock of a cane – it’s time. The door opens and you stumble forward, stunned by the light. The president of The Men picks you up, and pretends to listen to you speak in what they call “Groundhogese” (a fake language invented by The Men), translating whether spring has arrived or there will be six more weeks of winter. The crowd cheers.
If you haven’t guessed already, this is the real-life story and experience of the legendary Punxsutawney Phill. Today’s visualization is based on the articles The Bizarre History of Groundhog Day by Scottie Andrew and Everything You Need to Know About Punxsutawney Phil by Shanti Ryle. Make sure to check those out for the full story.
And because today is Groundhog’s Day, you’ve probably already pieced together today’s theme. Enjoy!
A round-up of things to watch, read, and listen to as you head into the weekend.
Life Kit Podcast: How to cope with seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Living in Minnesota, I am no stranger to seasonal affective disorder and the impact it can have during the dark months just before spring. This podcast was a great walkthrough of what SAD is, paired with practical steps to help make the winter months more bearable.
ICYMI Podcast: Our Top Internet Moments of the Year (Part 1) AND (Part 2)
While Punksawtawney Phil gazes into the future, I’m still catching up on all of the great 2023 recaps that were released at the end of last year. This two-part recap of internet moments was a fun listen, with the second episode fully focused on a singular event that happened on August 5, 2023 – the now-infamous Alabama River Boat fight. The internet moves fast, so I’d almost forgotten this iconic day, but the podcast deep-dive was such a great look at the situation and brought the story to a whole new level!! Check it out!
It’s Been a Minute Podcast: Music trends that took us by surprise in 2023
This is another great 2023 recap, this time with a focus on music from the year. I especially liked the parts that discussed the rise of country music, and the often-racist controversies surrounding many of the artists (see: Jason Aldean’s Try That in a Small Town). My husband Andrew and I are not country music fans on the whole (although I do love early Taylor Swift, Kelsey Ballerini, and The Chicks), but we discovered the song Broadway Girls by Lil Dirk feat Morgan Wallen through this podcast and have been hooked on this funny and unlikely collaboration.
Interviews with creators you **need** to check out!
For today’s Q+A, I’m so excited to introduce you to Leah of Nature Enthusiations LLC! I first heard of Nature Enthusiations through a friend who met Leah at an Art Fair where she was selling some of her beautiful nature-inspired ornaments and jewelry. Leah has been an interpretive naturalist and educator with various environmental organizations in Minnesota for over 20 years. In 2020, she started her own business, Nature Enthusiations LLC. She loves being able to explore, share, connect, and learn about the natural world with people of all ages. When she's not working or volunteering, she loves photographing everything she notices on walks, making creations from things others would leave behind, meeting all the dogs she can, and taking her basset hound on sniffaris.
You can see some of the programs and events Leah is participating in on the Nature Enthusiations Facebook and Instagram. Currently, she only sells her items at Silverwood Park’s annual winter artist market, so keep an eye out for that if you’re in the area! You can also reach out to Nature Enthusiations directly at their email, nature.enthusiations@gmail.com.
Tell me a little bit about your current work, and the journey that led you to starting Nature Enthusiations.
Growing up, I always loved animals. Though I was incredibly shy & never saw myself as outdoorsy, sharing my passion for nature helped me connect to both people and the environment. And it seems so obvious now - it’s what I was meant to do. Since then, I’ve worked and volunteered as a naturalist at various environmental organizations for over twenty years.
When Covid hit in 2020, my full-time employer decided to let me (and many others) go. Through a combination of generous acquaintances and serendipitous circumstances, I decided to start my own business to continue being a naturalist. People often comment on my enthusiasm as a teacher, and I love making nature-related creations (crafts, teaching tools, repurposed materials, etc.), so that’s how I chose my business name and focus: Nature Enthusiations.
Though I’m back to working full-time at a combination of other environmental organizations, I’ve continued adding to Nature Enthusiations offerings: leading programs, making teaching tools like guides and biological artifacts, and creating ‘wearable teaching tools’ a.k.a. nature-focused jewelry & decorations.
In honor of Groundhog’s Day, what are a few groundhog facts that you especially love?
Woodchucks? Whistle pigs? How much ground could a groundhog grind, anyway? Yeah… groundhogs are pretty amazing creatures. Though some homeowners and gardeners have trouble looking past groundhogs’ impressive digging and chewing abilities, what’s truly impressive is how they survive winter. Bears are commonly associated with hibernation, but they take a light winter nap compared to groundhogs. If people went through winter like a groundhog, we would lose half our body weight, our body temperature would drop down to about 29 degrees F, and the average adult would only take one breath every 11 minutes. Despite being able to appreciate the cool things we, as humans, can do in winter, there are some days I envy the groundhog and wish I could make a little winter hibernaculum myself.
This past May, you shared that it was your 10th summer raising giant silk moths. For folks unfamiliar, what are giant silk moths, and what drew you to raising them? What have you learned from the experience?
Giant silk moths, with their adorable fuzzy little faces and feathery antennae, are so cool! The largest moths on the planet are mostly giant silk moths, and they come in a variety of impressive colors, shapes, and patterns. Minnesota has around a dozen species of giant silk moths, including bright green luna moths, red-patterned cecropia moths (North America’s largest), and Polyphemus moths (the owl-eyed moths that made their way into the Nature Enthusiations logo).
My interest in giant silk moths started shortly after I shifted from being mostly afraid of bugs to being nicknamed “the bug lady.” A visitor at Wood Lake Nature Center, where I have worked intermittently since 2003 and feel deeply connected to, dropped off a jar of tiny native caterpillars so we could raise them and teach other visitors how amazing giant silk moths are. As we watched these pinkie-fingernail-sized creatures eat, poop, and grow to be the size of my thumb over just a couple of months, it was an incredible experience. The caterpillars eat through the leaves by repeatedly putting them between their little jaws and chewing down to the leaf vein and back up, which reminded me of the typewriter-style way some people eat corn on the cob. When they create their cocoons, they appear to go into a trance, swaying back & forth as liquid silk comes out from under their ‘chin’ to slowly create their little winter sleeping bags. They wait in those cocoons for ¾ of their life, and come out as adult moths that look completely different and never eat again. Even their poop (known as frass) is impressive - not just large, but some species’ frass is even shaped like little flowers. I’m guessing this is the first time someone talked about poop in your newsletter, but it somehow finds its way into my conversations on a surprisingly regular basis. I even make some very niche jewelry that includes caterpillar frass!
After that experience, I knew they would be an amazing animal ambassador to the bug world. So while I don’t recommend rearing insects as a way to save their species, it can be a really valuable educational experience, and offer connections and appreciation that folks may not otherwise have. Since then, I’ve raised and released moths for multiple generations, and have shared the experience with program participants along with anyone who’s looked at me curiously as I’ve released them into local parks (with permission). It’s a fun way to help people become more aware, increase their appreciation for ‘bugs’, and to give them a unique experience that they may never forget.
What is one of the coolest natural events you’ve been able to observe through your work?
In general, I enjoy being a silent observer and seeing how animals live their daily lives and interact with their surroundings when they don’t notice (or at least don’t care) that I’m around. I’ve seen deer slip on ice, mink stalk their prey, opossums (presumably) dreaming & kicking their little feet while sleeping on their backs like puppies, turtles gaping open their mouths in what looks like (but absolutely isn’t) a subsonic roar, & so many other little moments of animals just doing their thing.
But one of the coolest more specific natural events I’ve witnessed, that feels nothing short of magical to me, is when an insect emerges from its cocoon, chrysalis, or old skin into something completely different than it was before. Can you imagine what it’s like to go from a squishy caterpillar who spends most of its life on just one or two plants … to a moth or butterfly that can fly miles away? Or from a dragonfly that spends most of its life underwater to suddenly crawling out of the water, busting open their aquatic ‘suit of armor’, growing wings, and becoming one of the best fliers and hunters on the planet? Even though I’m sure they’re not aware of those changes in the same sense we might be, it’s fascinating to think about what they must go through to make those huge changes happen and come out the other side. Kind of inspiring, if you ask me.
Darn word counts! We had to shorten Leah’s Q+A to make sure it fit the email, but you can see the last two questions (and her answers) here!
Things to try + share in the group chat.
Another holiday that repeats every year? Birthdays! I recently learned about Add-A-Pearl and *loved* it as a great recurring gift for a child in your life!! Starting when the child is young, you buy them a pearl each year, and by the end of a few decades, they’ll have their very own string of pearls to customize into a necklace! It’s a great way to gradually gift a high-quality, valuable, and sentimental piece of jewelry to your loved ones!
Grey Bandit’s sweaters help me survive until spring! This year, I bought this Cool Vibes Sweater, which is the same sweater I was wearing when a lady randomly came up to me at a restaurant and exclaimed “You’re so beautiful!” So of course, 10/10, highly recommend (compliments from strangers not guaranteed).
As a photographer myself, I loved this photo project by Conor Nickerson. The series, called Childhood (2017) features a series of photos from Conor’s childhood, each with a present-day version of himself photoshopped beside a past version. It’s a unique reflection on the passage of time, and just so cute!!
Once the Groundhog Day festivities end with today’s sunset, Valentine’s Day is next on the horizon! To aid in your preparations, I compiled a list of Easy Valentine’s / Galentine’s Day Gifts and Activities for Last-Minute Lovers. Check it out here!
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