Record warmth, home, 1Feb

This is a set-up, right? A rabbi, a priest, and a groundhog walk into a bar and... OK, tomorrow is the "whistlepig's" big day, and to prime the rodent, the January Thaw extended into February as the temperature climbed into record territory. A high in the mid-60s took care of all of last week's snow and gave me an unexpected vacation from wood-stoking duties. It was simply too warm to need a fire. Outside, the crane flies were dancing in the honeyed sunshine and there were plenty of small moths on the wing accompanying my trek to the backyard vernal pool, where I went to see if any of the Wood Frogs had been fooled out of suspended animation by the unnatural heat wave. Everyone was silent, but If this keeps up, we'll shortly have a batrachian chorus singing a hymn to climate change.