What happens in 46 days? The first day of spring-when the length of day and night is about equal. And of course, the days will keep getting longer for three months after that until the first day of summer and the cycle continues just as God designed it!
But since today is “Groundhog Day” I was thinking about those pesky rodents-and the grief they’ve caused me over the years.
I first thought of all the years I had horses and I constantly had to watch for holes that those “woodchucks” might have dug. If one of the horses didn’t see the hole, it could mean a broken leg.
Then like many, I think about all the garden vegetables I’ve had to “share” with those groundhogs. Only in some cases they won’t share anything with me! One year I had beautiful broccoli growing and as soon as the head or crown was just about fully formed, a groundhog would eat the entire head! They left nothing but the leaves…
We certainly have had a cold winter so far, but for us we only have several inches of snow on the ground, and we were able to take a ride through the woods to enjoy the beauty of the season. As we rode around, we went past several places where I knew there was a large groundhog hole and the ones in a hedgerow are most likely the “winter burrows”. There of course was no sign of life in any of the burrows. BUT…because of the way God created this rodent and to me this is the most amazing thing about this creature! Those groundhogs are in a deep state of hibernation-but yet still alive! Their body temperature drops to as low as 35 degrees, a heartbeat as low as 4 times a minute and they take one breath every 6 minutes! Their winter burrows are below the frost line, so during a cold winter like we’re having, they are always safe.
It won’t be long and as the days get longer and warmer those groundhogs or woodchucks as they are called will be back in full force irritating some of us again, so get ready!
“O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.” Psalms 104:24 (NLT)
Till Next Time…..
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