Meet Your Neighbor

Jimmy the Groundhog and his owners, Jerry and Maria Hahn

January 29, 2007

Living high on the hog

It's a dog's life, or so the saying goes. But few canines can claim the same royal treatment as Sun Prairie's most famous rodent: Jimmy the Groundhog.

Living year round at the Highway T orchard of Jerry and Maria Hahn, Jimmy's is a life of luxury -- at least from the perspective of his fellow woodchucks.

This time of year, in fact, he spends considerable time in the farm house, as Jerry and Maria prepare the four-year-old mammal for his busiest stretch. On Feb. 2, Jimmy will begin a whirlwind tour of the town, starting with his weather prognostication at Cannery Square and continuing with visits to local schools, the Colonial Club and the Bank of Sun Prairie.

The following day, he'll entertain visitors to the city's annual Groundhog's Day celebration at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, where he'll arrive by limo.

Jimmy's life wasn't always so grand, though, says Jerry, a Sun Prairie building inspector who found the little rascal while out on business one day. "I'm going out of town and I see this dark object in the center of the road," he explains. "The closer I get, I realize this is a groundhog. Jimmy was standing on his back legs and -- I'm not exaggerating -- he had his paws put together like he was praying."

Jerry, who had already volunteered to take over as keeper of the community's official groundhog (his previous charges had escaped, as is often the case with these burrowing buggers) knew what he had to do. He pulled over and placed the baby animal in a recycling bin from his vehicle. Then it was back to the farm for safekeeping.

Jimmy, only about six inches long, appeared to have been grazed by a car -- there was blood on his nose and a back leg -- but otherwise seemed okay. The Hahns began feeding him broccoli and water. "He came right to the little dish and started eating it," says Jerry. "He was much tamer than other groundhogs.

"He started eating out of my hand that very first day, and then it was just a matter of a couple weeks and he was doing this," says Jerry, as Jimmy nuzzles his cheek.

Of course, like anyone who lives in the lap of luxury, Jimmy's cuisine has gradually become more refined. "His favorite food is probably broccoli," explains Jerry. "Next would be apples, then carrots and then, for protein, rabbit pellets. But there was a time when it seemed like he didn't eat enough rabbit pellets, so I started mixing a lot of peanut butter with the broccoli and carrots, and now he won't eat anything without the peanut butter. He's so fussy."

While Feb. 2 is clearly Jimmy's most social time, he's also been known to entertain the other 364 days. You'll often see him at local celebrations. And if you visit Jerry's Apples to purchase some produce, you could very well get up close and personal with the little guy.

You may also run into Jimmy at some regional events. Over the past couple years he's attended the Madison Farmers' Market, participated in the Crazy Legs run and sat in the stands of a Madison Mallards game. They were playing the Woodchucks, of course.

Two years ago, Jimmy was even the guest speaker for a banquet at the Horicon National Refuge. "But I had to do all of the interpretation," Jerry says with a laugh.

The only other local who can understand this language -- often called "groundhogese" -- is Mayor Joe Chase. (The ability to translate comes with the office.) On Friday, Jimmy will whisper his forecast to the mayor, who will declare the news to the crowd.

And then, after a busy weekend about town, it's back to the good life for Jimmy.