Let's keep it Ground Hog Day, for now

About 500 A.D., the Celtic people in Europe believed that animals had supernatural powers on days that are halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

People in Germany and France thought that when marmots and bears came out of their dens too early, they were frightened by their shadow and went back inside for a month and a half.

In Scotland, they believed that the hedgehog had special healing powers.

In Berks County, Pa., storekeeper James Morris wrote in his diary, Feb. 4, 1841, "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow, he pops back for another six weeks' nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

We hadn't heard from groundhog Staten Island Chuck in New York City, yet, nor Stormy in Chicago's Brookfield Zoo or Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario, but the most famous of the lot, Punxwsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pa., didn't see his shadow this morning, so we may have an early spring.

We don't know about Pennsylvania, but one thing those of us in Southwest Nebraska are ready for is an early spring.

Elswhere in the West, officials in Santa Fe, N.M., Albuquerque, N.M., Boulder and Lakewood, Colo., are putting another slant on the idea, declaring today "Prairie Dog Day."

They point to prairie dogs as an important "icon of the prairie and mountain grasslands." They cite a 98-99 percent decline in prairie dog acreages as endangering species such as the black-footed ferret, mountain plover, swift fox, ferruginous hawk and burrowing owl.

We're all for taking care of the land and preserving wildlife, but, especially among farmers and ranchers who have to deal with their burrows, we doubt if Prairie Dog Day will catch on in these parts.