Sso, it’ss ground hog’ss day again, iss it? Ssay your s-ss with a whisstle and you can ssound like the gopher in Walt Dissney’ss “Winne-the-Pooh”. He’ss a favorite character for ssure and a good excusse to practisse your whisstling sskillss. Ssee what i mean?
Here’s the news from Pennsylvania reported by TODAY: “Around 7:30 a.m. local time, Phil’s handler retrieved him from his burrow, and the president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club said that Phil did indeed see his shadow…which means six more weeks of winter are ahead.”
It’s probably safer to be a ground hog in the Keystone State than a prairie dog in South Dakota. Hunting season is year round with no limit to the number of black-tailed prairie dogs you may shoot. It’s a way to control the prolific population and protect grasslands from degradation.
watch prairie dog town
heads pop up, tails disappear
curious critters
a poem in my pocket 
Feb 09, 2026 @ 10:57:18
I always wonder how they know it can see its own shadow 🙂
Feb 09, 2026 @ 13:48:57
Good question!! ???
Feb 03, 2026 @ 09:22:33
Prairie dogs! They are so much fun to watch. They must be the inspiration for Whack-a-mole. I think it must be their desire to build whole towns that earns them the reputation for being destructive. A bit ironic, but here we are. Woodchucks are more solitary but still are justifiable targets because of their burrow holes in farm fields. I enjoyed your haibun!
Feb 03, 2026 @ 12:13:03
Yes, Whack-a-mole and the irony of construction or destruction 🙂 Thanks for your comments, D!