Punxsutawney Phil, the official US groundhog for February 2, saw his shadow this morning, meaning we will have six more weeks of winter. General Beauregard Lee, the official groundhog for Georgia, on the other hand, did not see his shadow, meaning spring is just around the corner and will be here in about six weeks.

I don’t care what the groundhogs say. I know when spring starts: when pitchers and catchers report to their training camps in Florida and Arizona. For the White Sox, that’s February 19; the Braves report a day later.

Lent, the 40-day period prior to Easter, starts on the 18th. I gave up Facebook for Lent last year, and will probably do so again this year. It’s not much of an act of penance; I gave up Facebook a couple of times last year, and was amazed at how productive I was and how relaxed and happy I felt.

Two of my nephews (maybe three, I can’t remember) have birthdays coming this month, and the 15th is my father’s birthday. He’d be 83 this year.

It’s also Black History Month, time to remember the contributions made by Black Americans such as Langston Hughes, who I focused on briefly yesterday.

Does anyone have a major life event coming in February? Why not let us know about it in the comments?