A Celebratory Day of the Prognosticating Marmot to You All!

[Ladder8]

Or in other words...

Happy Groundhog Day!

So what does the local rodent/bird/snake/other say that you're going to have - six more weeks or not?

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

The MetroWest Daily News used to have their own version of Punxnatawney Phil... his name was "Cochituate ( ko-chith-u-et) Chuck"...

I think he lost his job as the prognosticator of the extension of winter when the paper was sold to another publisher...

[MalahatTwo7]

Or in other words...

Happy Groundhog Day!

So what does the local rodent/bird/snake/other say that you're going to have - six more weeks or not?

WHAT? Did you wait up all night to make this post, Oh Officer of Animal Control? LOL

[FrFtr28]

Phil did not see his shadow, so it looks like an early Spring. In other weather related news, the temp here is going to drop down near zero for a couple days... I think Phil needs to get his eyesight checked.

[lvwrench]

Here in nevada we won't know anything until our Desert Max the tortoise comes out of his hole.

[doughesson]

"In the old days,they used to drag the rodent out of his cave and EAT HIM...."

[MalahatTwo7]

Well.. maybe he does have good news after all.

Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam join climate-change chorus, predict early spring

Wiarton's Mayor Gwen Gilbert, left, smiles beside Wiarton Willie as he takes in his surroundings and announces an early spring. (CP PHOTO/Nathan Denette

Gregory Bonnell, Canadian Press Published: Friday, February 02, 2007

WIARTON, Ont. (CP) - The perils of global warming weren't lost on Canada's most famous four-legged weather forecaster Friday as Wiarton Willie predicted an early end to a late winter that had many Canadians wondering if it would ever come at all.

As the world's leading climate experts met in Paris to declare global warming "unequivocal" and its cause man-made, this central Ontario town's pudgy albino groundhog emerged from hibernation to add his considered opinion.

"(Melting ice) in the Arctic, Pacific Rim typhoons out of season, snow storms in California," town crier Bruce Kruger bellowed in his preamble to Willie's appearance before hundreds of curious onlookers.

"Yes, Wiarton Willie is not only a prognosticating expert, but has fast become aware of global warming - he takes this great matter into his calculations."

Willie's verdict?

Spring is just around the corner, and with it warmer temperatures.

While there was no evidence the pink-eyed woodchuck has seen Al Gore's climate-change documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," Kruger said Willie has been discussing the film's central themes with Mayor Gwen Gilbert.

In fact, Willie wants to strike a summit of his own on global warming, said Mac McKenzie, who founded the Wiarton festival 51 years ago.

"He's asking for one groundhog from each of our provinces to meet here next year and say, 'OK, we're going to see how this is going,' " said McKenzie.

It appears Willie, if such a conference is convened, will have the support of his four-legged brethren.

Nova Scotia's furry weather forecaster, Shubenacadie Sam, and Pennsylvania prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil also failed to spot their shadows.

Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, he'll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter - if he doesn't, it means an early spring.

A bewildered Sam emerged from his custom-built enclosure near Halifax to the sound of the bagpipes and a town crier and with a light snow falling.

"We had a great hurray . . . because we're going to have an early spring," said Sue Penney, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources.

Punxsutawney Phil was greeted by more than 15,000 revellers who milled about in a misty snow waiting for the prediction, as fireworks exploded overhead and music blared in the background.

Sammi Gainor, 17, said she and her father Richard first attended the Punxsutawney ceremony four years ago.

"Since then, it's really been just good memories of things I do together with my dad," Gainor said.

Added her father: "It's just kind of fun seeing people go so crazy about a groundhog."

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.

While they all agreed on an early spring, it seems Willie led the pack when it came to the pressing issue of the day.

"He was concerned (about global warming) ahead of time because of all of our weather that's been going on," said Gilbert.

"He was wondering too what was going on, but the facts are there, he just did not see his shadow."

With several national media outlets hanging on his every move, Willie - through his human friends - made sure Ottawa knew what was on his rodent mind.

"He's very, very concerned about the climate changes and global warming and he's looking forward to the government doing something," said Kruger.

The origins of the tradition aren't clear, but it's likely related to the fact that Groundhog Day falls midway between the start of winter and the beginning of spring.

Some say it started with Candlemas, a Christian custom named for the lighting candles during the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary.

According to an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year."

© The Canadian Press 2007

[Ladder8]

Why the groundhog got into predicting the weather...

(it sure beat the alternative...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BN0a5UjQlE