A Most Unusual Groundhog Day

It's a good thing that Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow this morning, because if there were ever a time when we needed an early spring, this year would certainly fit the bill. With schools closed for a second day (which is threatening to turn into a third), we're running out of bad weather days, and everyone's starting to get cabin fever in a big way.

I got a little bit of relief from that earlier this afternoon. Thankfully, local hamburger chain Scotty P's decided to open today and trumpeted that fact on Facebook. With one of those just up the road, I decided to venture out farther than the corner store today, and it was great to get out of the house for an hour or so. (Others had the same idea, of course; Scotty P's was nearly full.) The roads were much better than they had been yesterday, although the bridges are still pretty much a sheet of ice. I didn't drive any faster than 20 MPH, nor did anyone else seem to be going faster than that. The most treacherous terrain I encountered was the sidewalk, so walking was much more dicey than driving.

There's a chance that schools will be closed again tomorrow, so I'm bracing myself for a very busy day on Friday if we get to go back. This has definitely been the strangest winter ever in the whole time I've been in North Texas, and it's not even halfway done yet.