Not to be outdone by other rodent-based holidays, Boulder’s mayor has declared February 2 to be Prairie Dog Day.

The Daily Camera, my alma mater, reported that no one’s sure what it will mean if prairie dog sees its shadow today. Nor does Boulder have an official named mascot for the holiday as yet.

(When we woke up this morning and tried to head out for breakfast, our thermometer read -10 degrees and all but one of our car doors were frozen shut. We opted to stay in, and surely any sensible prairie dog, named or unnamed, did the same.)

Boulder is a battleground county in the prairie dog wars. The developers and equestrians are surely much chagrined by this clear bias for those hippie dirt-worshippers who protect the plaque-carrying rodents. However, it would be much easier to side with those who dislike the ubiquitous prairie dog if 1) developers hadn’t gassed a bunch of them to build a Wal-Mart on the southern end of the county (no Wal-Mart in Boulder city limits, of course) and, 2) the little critters are so darn cute, especially in the spring when the litters of babies come out, gosh they’re adorable…did I mention their reproductive capabilities rival rabbits? Well anyway, like them or not, Happy Prairie Dog Day and enjoy my haiku to the prairie dog.