The PIGG Pin

It's Phil

Today is Groundhog Dog, and I wanted to post some info about the history and meaning behind it.  I pulled this directly from Wikipedia…

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2. It is held in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if a groundhogwinter will soon end. If on the other hand, the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.^[1] The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.^[2] The holiday also bears some similarities to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas.^[3] It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 2 and also involves weather prognostication.^[4] emerging from its burrow on this day fails to see its shadow, it will leave the burrow, signifying that

Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge,^[5] social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g’spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table.^[6]

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as high as 40,000^[7] have gathered to celebrate the holiday since at least 1886.^[8] Other celebrations of note in Pennsylvania take place in Quarryville in Lancaster County,^[9] the Anthracite Region of Schuylkill County,^[10] the Sinnamahoning Valley^[11] and Bucks County.^[12] Outside of Pennsylvania, notable celebrations occur in the FrederickHagerstown areas of Maryland,^[13] the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia,^[14] Woodstock, Illinois,^[15] and among the Amish populations of over twenty states and Canada.^[14] The University of Dallas in Irving, Texas has taken Groundhog Day as its official university holiday and organizes a large-scale celebration every year in honor of the Groundhog.^[16] and

Groundhog Day received worldwide attention as a result of the 1993 film of the same name, Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and featured Punxsutawney Phil.^[17]

Happy Groundhog

My older brother and I in 1990

As we move out of January and into February, some of us are going to start thinking about our lawnmowers.  Some of us just cut our own yards and others of us mow other peoples lawns as well as our own.  I was thinking about how many different brands and styles of lawnmowers there are and was wondering who uses what kind of mower to mow what size yard.   Today, I want to give a brief description of the ones that I have used in the past, and ask for you to give me a brief explanation of what kind of mower you use for your yard.

I started out as most of us did, using a 20 inch push mower.  It wasn’t long before I traded mowing an old man’s yard, for him to give me a 30 inch rear engine riding lawnmower.  I believe it was a Murray brand.  I then got a Simplicity brand rear engine rider.  Then a Murray 36 inch regular looking rider.  Eventually we bought a Kobota commercial hydrostat mower.  That lead us to get a 51 inch John Deere 725 mower (which were very

My brother and I in 1997

poplar right before the zero turn mowers came out!).  We traded the John Deere in on the first Exmark zero Turn mower with a 60 inch deck.  We have had some walk behind mowers mixed in over the years of all shapes and sizes.  Today we still use Exmark mowers.

When we had just the Murray and Simplicity riders, we also had a Snapper walk behind.  During this time we were able to mow about 600 yards in a season.  Don’t forget I was in Middle School at this time and my older brother had just started driving.  By the time we had got our Exmark Mower, we were averaging 50 + yards per week, even while I was still in High School and my brother was away in college.

It is amazing what having the right equipment will do for you.  Tell me what you are using to do your yard and if you have ever, or ever plan to mow for other people.  Let’s all learn together what the secret to lawn cutting success is.

For more archived images of me…find me on Facebook.com/kevinpigg

Happy Mowing

Annual Flowers

This is the question I have to ask myself every time I design a new landscape.  I have to decide if I want, or the homeowner wants to replant this spot over and over again or just once.  Let’s talk for a minute about the differences between an annual and a perennial.

An annual plant is one that will only survive for one season.  These will tend to include; pansy, petunia, marigold, geranium, impatien etc.  Annuals always will provide you will a very high quality showing in a landscape area.  If maintained properly, the use of an annual could take your landscape from being average to extraordinary.  There are summer annuals and winter annuals.  Summer annuals are obviously more brilliant and have a much greater selection.  Winter annuals such as the pansy, will survive freezing temperatures, but will only truly grow when the temperatures are in the 50’s and above.

Perennials are excellent plants to have and enjoy.  They will almost always return year after year and often will become stronger and more vibrant as time goes on.  There are hundreds, if not thousands of choices to pick from when it comes to perennials.  Perennials are unique in fact they multiply in so many different ways.  Some plants will completely die in the winter, but have such a strong seed, new plants will emerge in the spring.  Sometimes in the right spot, sometimes somewhere far away from the original plant.  Some plants, i.e. hosta or daylily will completely loose all its foliage in the winter, but will reemerge from the root structure in the spring, and become a larger plant

Perennial Flowers

because of a larger root system.

Perennials and annuals are definitely complimentary of each other.  When planning a planting area for either one, you must account for the mature size of the plant.  Many perennials and some annuals can get upwards of 4-5 ft. in height.  You must also keep in mind with perennials how they reproduce themselves.  You do not want new plants coming up in places they shouldn’t.

If you have any questions about a plant, or what to plant where…shoot me an email @ askthepigg@thepiggpin.com and we will get you an answer quickly.

Happy Planning

My Pig Fire Pit at the Wilson County Fair

As requested, this is my Pig Fire Pit which Rick Wittrig made for me.  He literally makes them by hand, no stencils at all.  They are made from recycled metal so they are helpful to the environment.  Made from a heavy steel, I have carried mine all over town to many shows and places and haven’t had any hint of damage to it.

As you might have seen from my other post, he has made an entire world which will be displayed in the Olympics coming in Feb. 2010.  Incredibly awesome stuff.  Here is the link to the news report for the olympics  http://www.wsmv.com/sports/22284435/detail.html

His website is http://firepitart.com    Check it out, he can ship all over the United States.