Groundhog Day

Yesterday was Groundhog Day.  Primarily a North American tradition that stems from the European tradition of Candlemas, though it seems there are similar weather-predicting folklore around the world.

Locally, Jimmy the Groundhog in nearby Sun Prairie did not see his shadow so predicted an early spring.  More famously, Punxsutawney Phil was frightened by his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  

I never realized there were so many groundhogs making predictions until I did a search for this post.  Groundhog-day dot com seems to have a comprehensive list, but only shows 4 (of 89), including Jimmy, that have been predicting for over 50 years with many more being added especially in the last couple decades.

So what does this mean?  Pretty much nothing except that people love a goofy tradition.

Well, after this last cold spell most around here would welcome an early spring.  I know I'm over winter, especially recently having a bad cold (which is why I am home from work today).

So far I seem to be asking a question at the end of my posts this year.  Here's another one:  Do you have a local groundhog or similar tradition?  If so, what was the prediction?

Cold Spell

By early yesterday afternoon schools and businesses were starting to announce closings for today, Friday.  Including my work, so I get a free day off today.

When I got up this morning temperatures were around -18ºF (-28ºC) with wind chills nearing -40ºF (-40ºC).  The high today is only -8ºF (-13ºC).  Let that sink in.

We are stuck in a bit of a cold spell, for sure.  Even the extended forecast only shows highs in the single digits to low teens.  Kate's birthday was earlier in the week, so surely the start of deep winter for us.

Today's picture was taken from inside, for obvious reasons.  While it appears to be a beautiful day outside we will not be leaving the house.  I forgot to turn off my alarm so I was up early to see the ugly numbers above, that's enough.

I just got up from a nap a bit ago since I stayed up late last night, and have no real plans for the day.  Later we'll make home made pizza for dinner, and if I get bored soon enough I may even make another batch of pizza dough for the freezer.  In fact, I'll be in for most of the weekend so I should figure out something interesting to bake.  Any ideas?

Beef 2026

Early last November I ordered another quarter of beef from the same place we always use, Wisconsin River Meats.  They were about to shut down for the next several weeks for deer processing so we were expecting a call around the middle of this month, which was not a problem for us.  In fact, last weekend my wife used the last of our beef, a round steak, to make beef jerky, then we got the call on Sunday afternoon that our beef was ready for pickup.  On Friday, my wife drove up to retrieve it.

Now, beef prices have risen quite a bit just like everything else at the grocery store so we knew we'd be spending quite a bit, but still expected it to be better quality and a better deal than any local grocery store.  We got 4 boxes of meat instead of the usual 3, so it was a bigger cow, too.  About 16 pounds bigger than our previous biggest, two orders ago in 2023.

Total cost was $1439.13 for about 159.1 lbs., to make it around $9.05 / lb.

Quite a jump from the last time in August of 2024 ($906.54 / 136.8 lbs. / $6.63), but about the same price per pound currently for a good, lean ground beef from the grocery store, so still a good deal for all cuts of meat we received.  (That would be 77 pounds of ground beef and 82 pounds of steaks, roasts and more.)  Not only cheaper but so much better quality than grocery store beef.

She didn't get too many of their processed meats this year; two pounds of dried beef, regular and garlic ring bologna, and some wieners.  But she did get some super fresh cheese curds just made that morning that were super-squeaky fresh and absolutely delicious.  If you know, you know.

We've gotten a quarter of a cow now every year since 2016, skipping 2020 and 2025 since it tends to last us for a bit more than a year.  We did have to look at some grocery store meat last month which just reaffirmed our choice to buy in bulk from a quality meat supplier.

So far it has been a pretty quiet start to the new year.  There's been a few things I've  thought about writing but nothing spectacular or of note, until this.  I do have a few pictures I may share later this week with other ramblings, but no one is missing anything.

How is your year so far?

Happy New Year 2026

Happy 2026, everyone.  I slept in this morning, New Year's Eve day, and it was nice.  I was awake for a bit early, but stayed in bed and looked at my phone until I finally slept a couple more good hours.  Chasing a good, full night's sleep has been a constant for me in 2025.

Kate and I went out and had a nice lunch today, then came home to get into comfy clothes and bump up the thermostat.  It is a very gray day today (again), with snow flurries as well. The plan for us is to make beef tenderloin steaks with potatoes or pasta for dinner, with the newer Spinal Tap movie and a sweet treat to follow.  She is feeling a bit under the weather so will likely go to bed at a normal time or earlier while I will try to stay up and ring in the new year.  I may watch Dick Clark's Rockin' NYE on television or find some other interesting show for the countdown.  Anyway, just a quiet night in for us and likely the same for tomorrow.

How did you ring in the New Year?