At the intersection of Bee Cave Road and State Highway 71 in Western Travis County, a huge shopping center dwarfs a 4.5-acre rural Texas farmstead.

Sixth generation Texan T. Boothe insisted on saving the parcel, along with its old house and outbuildings, when his family's 380-acre ranch was sold to make room for the shopping center. Now the land is surrounded by an old wooden fence dotted with "No Trespassing" signs. Once a week, it serves as the meeting place for the "Benevolent Knights of the Raccoon."

"We've got real estate brokers; we've got stock brokers' we've got plumbers," said Boothe. "You know, we've got contractors; we've got every imaginable type of character."

Every imaginable character, that is, except political liberals. The Raccoons, you see, are by-and-large, of a conservative bent, though as Boothe is quick to point out, not "activists or militia types."

In other words, they're fun-loving conservatives. And on Tuesday, Feb. 2, there was plenty of fun to be had.

"I'd always been, at first mildly irritated, that so much attention was given to a groundhog in Pennsylvania, 1000-plus miles away, suggesting that that would have any relevance, his forecast of the coming of spring would have any relevance to Texas or Texans," said Boothe.

Mild irritation gave way to mega indignation and this year, Booth decided to act. He and his fellow Raccoons secured the services of an armadillo named, Bee Cave Bob. They stuck the critter in a pipe in the ground and accompanied by trumpets, they used a wooden plunger to gently nudge Bob onto a section of "highway," actually a sidewalk decorated with a yellow stripe in the middle.

If the animal stayed out of his hole, spring would come six weeks early. If he returned to his abode, we would be in for more winter. Or was it the other way around? Actually, it doesn't much matter, because the "Raccoons" kept the plunger in the pipe and Bob couldn't have returned if he wanted to.

There was, you see, another prediction at stake, one that would prognosticate the political climate in Texas for the coming year. If the armadillo veered to the left of the yellow line, the Lone Star State would move to the left politically. A veer to the right would foresee a more conservative stance. A stroll down the center of the line would predict a moderate political climate and if the "diller" swerved back and forth, political anarchy would prevail.

As Bob emerged, the Raccoons rooted for a right hand turn, but Bob made a hard left and then another and then another, winding up in the grass behind the sidewalk and leaving the judges perplexed. Perhaps taking a cue from the 2000 presidential election in Florida, they finally announced the verdict.

"He went right!" they proclaimed.

In the audience, Jim Franklin, one of the only liberals in the crowd grumbled. Franklin was the poster artist that started the armadillo craze in Texas back in the 70s.

"Look at it, it's living on the left side of the road," he said. "How can the Republicans say that that is not a liberal armadillo? All armadillos are liberals." he smiled.

Back on stage, the words of Raccoon Boothe still rang across the shopping center parking lot.

"God bless Texas!" he shouted. "Let's hear it!"

The crowd roared and in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil slunk back into his hole.