I didn’t do anything wrong.

I got up, like usual on this day of the week, at 5:30 am, and went to my early-morning meeting. It was dark and the temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (about 22 degrees Celsius). I mean it was a nice morning. Right? Wrong. This is Texas, remember.

When I walked out the door two hours later at 7:30 am, I stopped and shivered. I got into my car, turned the ignition key, and read on the display 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). That is a 31 Fahrenheit-degree (17 Celsius-degree) drop in just two hours. Brrrrrr. And in the morning it’s supposed to be 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius) from a high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (about 24 degrees Celsius) a day ago. That’s a 50 Fahrenheit-degree (29 Celsius-degree) drop. Double Brrrrr Brrrrrrrrr.

What did I do wrong? I watched Phil and he said. . . .

Phil is the groundhog who lives in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA. Well, on February 2nd since 1887, he’s been pulled from his den to predict the weather. If he says he saw his shadow, that means six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, that means an early spring. I checked. Phil saw his shadow. It’s on the Internet. You can check. That means an early spring, right? What happened?

My wife said she drove by the school down the street and the daffodils were blooming. I looked out the window and the quince bush has gorgeous orange blossoms. On the Esplanade, the first wildflowers of Texas are beginning to peak out. What happened to the temperature.

Texas happened.

I’m a northern boy, grew up in the USA State of Iowa. When I was a boy, I’d walk out across the snow-covered fields to do kid stuff when the temperature was -20 degrees Fahrenheit (about -29 degrees Celsius). I’m used to cold.

I’m not used to Texas swing. And I am not referring to Texas Music like that of The Light Crust Doughboys — they are still a favorite. Texas Western Swing is country music. I am referring to the radical, unexpected and generally unsettlingly wild swings in temperature in Texas.

It’s one thing to be a groundhog up North, and I admire Punxsutawney Phil for his persistence. The locals say the same Phil has been predicting the weather for 136 years. That’s staying power. In Texas, he would have left for more predictable climes years go. Today, Texas Phil would be sitting on a beach, with a cold beverage with a little umbrella in it, and he’d be predicting the next warm wave. It’s one thing to predict the weather; it’s another to have unprdictable weather.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Texas. But, well, the weather here is unpredictable.

This year, I’m afraid the Phil up there got it wrong for down here.

I’ll put on a heavy coat, gloves and my stocking cap.

In Texas, the weather is bound to change.

Maybe, some Texas swing?

While we wait?

Now that did warm my mood.

Could be it was only a temporary setback.

Maybe Phil is right and we will have an early spring.

Grandpa Jim

PS: If you’d like to hear more from Phil himself, check out the interview he did for us right here at Uncle Joe Stories some years ago. Just click on his name: Phil.