By Monty Siekerman

A rodent in a Pennsylvania berg indicated this morning that North America is in for an early spring.

That's good news unless you like to ski, skate, or own a lodge on a hill.

However, a local golden retriever predicts just the opposite, as she saw her shadow in Railroad Park at sunrise, meaning we are in for more cold weather.

But the retriever, named Abby, is a pup and hasn't learned all there is to know about prognostication.

Like at Gobblers Knob, Ada is probably in for an early spring. See the daffodils popping through the ground already?

Gardeners sharpen your tools, the green of the bulb plants are poking through the earth. Tulips were sighted, too.

As all here know, come Groundhog Day on Feb. 2, the land is usually covered in snow, usually several inches thick with mounds several feet high where it has been scraped.

No snow on the ground this year. Ada usually receives about 9 inches of snow in January, this year we top out at about 3 inches, which is a relief from 2014 and 2015, which were above average years for snow.

So, Punxsutawney Phil believes spring is just around the corner, puppy Abby says otherwise, let's go with Phil.

 Abby checks out daffodils starting to sprout at Railroad Park. The park gardener should tell her, "Don't eat the flowers!"