Phyllis Comes to Chico!

CHICO, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY
MARCH 20, 2012
Hi: 59
Lo: 46

Our favorite groundhog, Punxsutawney Phyllis made an overnight stop here in Chico, California on her World Tour. Of course, we were just thrilled to have her. We had BIG plans for her stay. Picnics, walking tours of our university, some wildflower hikes...and then, as fast as a jackrabbit, the wind changed.

It's gusts pushed in billowing clouds the color of charcoal. Not to mention the cold, whose bite stung like a bee.  There would be no picnics, tours or hikes for us. What on earth could we do? We had to think fast.

 Lucky for us, Phyllis was pretty exhausted from her travels when we found her waiting for us patiently on the porch. 

 Lucky for her, it was nap time! (Did you know groundhogs snore?)

After a little shut-eye, Phyllis was ready to see the town by bike! Chico has a large biking community. Rain or shine, you'll find people's legs-a-pumpin', pedaling away. Notice how she wore a helmet? Bike safety is important. Brains before beauty! =)

We raced as fast as our little legs would allow us down the street to the public library. With the wind in our hair, not to mention a few rain drops plopping right onto our eyeballs, we barely beat the storm that was moving in from the west, or was it the east? The south?

"Shhh," we were told when we shuffled through the library's doors.  But let me tell you folks, it was pretty hard to stay quiet with all of the fun books around! Phyllis was in good company. 

After such an exciting afternoon, we hit the hay pretty early.  Who knew what the next day would bring?!


WEDNESDAY
MARCH 21, 2012
Hi: 67
Lo: 48

This was Phyllis's last day here in Chico. It was cloudy with a chance of meatballs  rain...and FREEZING! (Well, not technically freezing, but really cold for our central Sacramento valley, California standards.   

INTERESTING FACT:  As Phyllis told her story of April Fool's Day, some of these California kids had no idea what a blizzard was! Some have never seen snow.

Phyllis told us she really wanted to see some of the town's wildlife. Here she is feeding some exotic birds: Bert, Ernie and Elmo.

Next she had a hot date...hot playdate that is! As you can see, Phyllis was very good at taking turns with the toys.  The get-together was hugely successful with no time-outs or castle-building squabbles.

I don't know about you, but at our house, we LOVE to eat! This means we made sure to feed Phyllis a nutritious and hardy meal before it was time for her to jet off to San Jose, CA.   Wouldn't want her little  groundhog belly grumbling on the trip south, now would we? She still has a lot of road to cover!

Despite the poor weather, we had a lovely time with our favorite groundhog. We will never look at a rodent the same way again.  =) We love you Phyllis! KIT.

Best Wishes,
The Omlors.