Today is ground hog day

[FISH4BUGS]

OK Phil....let's see what ya got!

[Wayne Smith]

Now THAT, I appreciate! They taste good, too.

[farmerjim]

That is a good groundhog. It is dead. Good shooting.

[TheDoctor]

Maybe my eyes aren't working right. Did you lay a model 27 on a dead rodent? Hard to tell on my phone....

[mold maker]

This is what God made lead for.
Ya sure hid his shadow.

[ballistim]

Looks like Phil ate his gun.

[labradigger1]

Now that's a good ground hog!

[Plate plinker]

I'm sure that was rodent suicide. Held the muzzle with front paws. Tripped the trigger with hind leg. Couldn't handle the pressure of being a weather forecaster.

[geargnasher]

I guess PETA was right, he was severely disturbed from all the attention, paparazzi, scandal, and performance anxiety and took the only way out he knew....so sad. :violin:

Gear

[Certaindeaf]

Perfect!

[waynem34]

Tasty? My dad killed a blue million of them and we never eat any. We gave them away. Always heard they were very greasy? I may have to try one now.

[Janoosh]

My Italian great grandfather used to cook them cacciatori, great tasting.!
Good photo, by the way.

[Wayne Smith]

"Greasy" and "Tasty" are not incompatable. Ever cook a duck or a goose?

[skeeter2]

or bacon?

[ballistim]

They really taste good in the spring! My dad made meat loaf with them & I like them in an oven bag with Granny Smith apples & Vidalia onions-don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

[country gent]

Young ones are good old ones can be tough and strong tasting. I have grilled babequed them on a rotiserie long and slow over low heat. Very good.

[georgerkahn]

At most sausage companies, EVERY DAY IS GROUND HOG DAY!
georgerkahn

[Plate plinker]

No thanks the vultures have to eat too.

[Artful]

Groundhog bites Wisconsin mayor in the ear

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/03/groundhog-bites-sun-prairie-wisconsin-mayor/22795419/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/03/groundhog-bites-sun-prairie-wisconsin-mayor/22795419/)


SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Next year, Sun Prairie Mayor Jonathan Freund will wear earmuffs.

Jimmy the Groundhog chomped on the mayor's ear (http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2015/02/02/jimmy-groundhog-caretaker-retires-mayor-nipped/22760183/) just seconds after coming out of his hole Monday without seeing his shadow. The nip, however, did not stop the mayor from performing his duty. Freund announced to the crowd that Jimmy XI was forecasting an early spring.

Call it first time jitters for first-time Groundhog Day participants, Freund and Jimmy XI. Freund was elected mayor last May, and Jimmy, a two-year-old groundhog, made his debut.


"This is the first year that Jimmy has predicted an early spring with me," Freund said. "It's a great tradition. It brings a lot of people out to Sun Prairie.


"I was hoping not to get bit, but certainly not nervous at all."


The event marked the end of a dream for handler Jerry Hahn. He is retiring as Jimmy's handler after 13 years.


"I'm a little bit on the emotional side today," Hahn said. "I know that this is the last time my wife (Maria) and I and Jimmy will be together. It's been a good run and it's time to turn it over to someone that can continue the tradition and make something very special for the city of Sun Prairie."


Hahn was 6 years old when he attended Sun Prairie's first Groundhog Day event in 1948.


Hahn will hand off his duties to Beans 'n Creams owner Jeff Gauger. Jimmy will be placed at a hobby farm in Sun Prairie until next year's event.


Hahn said he is confident the mayor and the city's weather-savvy critter will develop a great relationship.


"Jimmy was doing great today other than taking a nip out of the mayor's ear," Hahn said. "That's part of being the mayor, I guess. This is the fourth mayor (since I've been handler), the second mayor that got a nip."