Happy Ground Hog Day! That is, if you consider 6 more weeks of winter happy.

Earlier this morning, Wiarton Willie, the prognosticating (my new word for the day) groundhog, immortalized in the statue above, saw his shadow. So did Punxsutawney Phil. So, 6 more weeks of winter ahead for us!

Read more about what Wiarton Willie saw here . And, for Punxsutawney Phil here .

The verb prognosticate, as you, unlike me, probably know, means to foretell or prophesy. Prognosticating seems to be the word of the day in this year's articles about Wiarton Willie and Punxsutawney Phil. One source even makes reference to the prognosticating "rodent". "Happy Rodent Day" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Whatever the greeting, it's not hard to believe the prognostications made by our groundhog friends. Last night, the Greater Toronto Area received another huge snow fall - beautiful to behold, but meant about an hour and a half of shovelling for us at our place.

I much prefer the warm breeze, blue sky, and summer sunshine I experienced the day I took the photograph above. "Wiarton Willie", a 4.5 tonnes limestone sculpture by Canadian sculptor, Dave Robinson, stands in a lovely Wiarton park ( www.visitwiarton.ca) at the base of the Bruce Penninsula. The water seen behind the sculpture is Georgian Bay. The real Wiarton Willie lives nearby, in the library.

But, I prognosticate all this snow has an advantage, too. It offers me a great excuse to stay inside, blog, and paint. No procrastination allowed!

Happy, Creative, Ground Hog Day!