In years gone by, the savage Earless Beaker Bunny would come out, see whether her shadow was visible, savage someone's ankle and then go back into her hutch. But no more.
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| Former Groundhog |
So we had to find an alternative. Sure, we messed around by asking Burton Dasset to stand on the gravel drive. But you know. We needed an unlovely, gormless mammal for the job. And frankly Burton was over-qualified. So we went up the evolutionary ladder, through dormice, wild rabbits and muntjacs.
Just digressing for a moment - did you know there was a British Deer Society? Me neither. But I bet their annual society dinner in the autumn is cracking.
So anyway. We have to report that, in a proper mashup of ancient and modern mythology, we decided to use a lactating ewe.
The real point of the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc (pronounced "Candlemas") is apparently something to do with lactating ewes. We don't know why. And it's absolutely murder going through a herd of ewes trying to find a lactating one. As Burton discovered when the farmer set the sheep dogs on him.
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| Or were they goats? |
But the conclusion is clear. The lactating ewe not only couldn't see its shadow. It didn't even look. So we can hereby declare that we have 6 more weeks of winter. Or not. We can't remember. Whatever. It doesn't work anyway, let's face it.
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Groundhog day sounds more like the ritual grinding up of a pig without the benefit of a BBQ?
ReplyDeleteI suppose the practice of "Pulling Pork" a ritual that many modern Chefs seem to enjoy might mean that they all worship the ground hog?