A Book for Groundhog Day

Let me begin by saying Groundhog day means very little to me.  It isn't a holiday we celebrate; it all seems rather silly to me.  However, one of my favorite children's books happens to be about Groundhog day.  So, let me introduce you to A Garden for Groundhog by Lorna Balian, a gem that I happened to pick up at the library a few years ago.  

As I cracked open the cover and read the opening page, I knew this was going to be a book I could identify with.  The first page reads, "The O'Learys had a bit of a farm. A small cottage for the two of them and their cat, a tiny shed for the goat, the lamb, and two chickens, and a tidy little garden - with an apple tree.  It wasn't much of a farm, but it was enough." (Balian)  You could pretty much substitute our last name in there, minus the lamb (and we did have a lamb for one summer) and plus 4 children, 2 dogs, more goats, more chickens, more cats, and more apple trees.

The book goes on to describe the O'Learys simple farm life and their interaction with a groundhog that lives under their apple tree and enjoys dining in their garden.  The O'Learys decide to watch him on Groundhog day despite Mrs. O'Leary's misgivings about the holiday when she said, "Such foolishness!  When that groundhog comes out of his hole, it's only to see if we have planted anything yet.  After all of our work, he ate more from our garden last summer than we did!"  (Balian) I won't reveal the rest of the story for you, but it is a fun book for discussing Groundhog day.

Instead of wishing you a happy Groundhog day, I'm going to wish you happiness no matter what the weather is!  May we all endeavor to be grateful whether we have an early spring or not.  I was reminded of this the other day while driving through the snowy countryside when my 5 year piped up and said, "I can't wait until we can go outside without shoes on!"  This is the same boy, who about 2 weeks ago couldn't wait for the blizzard to come.  I thought, isn't that human nature?  Always wishing for something different?  Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side?  Let's have thankful hearts no matter the weather forecast.

Works Cited
Balian, Lorna.  A Garden for Groundhog.  Watertown: Humbug Books, 1985.