Well, my fellow Cowboy State Daily contributor Mark Heinz and I gathered on the southern slope of Lander this Groundhog Day, to see whether Lander Lil, Wyoming\u2019s famed gargantuan prairie dog, would see her shadow.<\/p>\n
We forgot why, though.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s winter, again?<\/p>\n
We have no idea.<\/p>\n
A few things about Lander Lil, though:<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a really good cougar detector.<\/p>\n
Not as good as the average Wyoming guy, in a bar \u2013 but you know \u2013 still good at finding those cougars.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also super dense. Just like your mom!<\/p>\n
And you can tell she\u2019s from Lander and not Riverton, because she can\u2019t spit very far.<\/p>\n
(How embarrassing.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mark proceeded to tell Wyoming how not to fry up a prairie dog. For example, they\u2019re super greasy, so you want to use an oil with a high smoke point and not bacon grease.<\/p>\n
This confused me so hard I almost lost my footing in the wind. I thought Mark was going to talk about how local business people came up with this great idea for a prairie dog statue in front of the Lander post office \u2013 where a real prairie dog town once sat.<\/p>\n
You know, until some good ol\u2019 boys got a few high-caliber rifles and some Tannerite and blew them to smithereens.<\/p>\n
Local artist Bev Paddleford sculped Lander Lil, and there she sits today, a picture of Landeresque refinement in the rising February sun.<\/p>\n
When the sun rose Monday behind an ominous, Colorado-shaped cloud, Lander Lil did not see her shadow. And we all know what that means:<\/p>\n
Ten more years of election campaign season!<\/p>\n
I asked Mark whether Lander Lil is smart enough to run for office. But then we both decided it does not matter.<\/p>\n
What are we doing here again?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s wishing a great February to you, Wyoming. Keep it Western.<\/p>\n
Anyway, maybe after this we\u2019ll have to see if Casper Planet is hiring.<\/p>\n
Mark says they\u2019re not hiring prairie dogs.<\/p>\n
They are hiring cougars though.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n