Celebrate the Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, the furry forecaster, predicts spring each year.

If Phil sees cloudy skies, he will leave his burrow, signifying that winter will end soon. If sunshine prevails, the groundhog will become frightened by seeing his shadow and retreat to his burrow. Then winter drags on for six more weeks. He did not see his shadow today so spring is on its way.
 
A German superstition says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last six more weeks.

The California counterpart of Punxsutawney Phil is a desert tortoise named Mojave Maxine. Her claim to season-predicting fame doesn't involve her shadow. 

Maxine's year of prediction involves awakening and toddling out of her burrow. Her body knows when to sleep based on the outside temperatures and the change in daylight hours. 

At the Living Desert Animal Park in Palm Desert, visitors watched her trundle out between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

Maxine will be 43 years old in April.

Each year a contest is held for students to guess the date and time Maxine will make appearance of the year.




Student prediction contest:  http://www.livingdesert.org/mojave-maxine/

In addition to spring predictions, today’s date is a palindrome date: 02/02/2020.

The date reads the same backward and forward. It is celebrated around the world, according to Aziz Inan, a University of Portland professor of electrical engineering.

A date with the year written with two digits, instead of four, will repeat each century.

Celebrate the day.