In Wiarton, Ontario, Canada, at 8:15 am on February 2nd, 2001, Wee Willie came forward to make his prediction. Amid much excitement and speculation Wee Willie did not see his shadow indicating an early spring. The mystique of the albino prognosticator continues with this young groundhog. Wee Willie has shown the insight of his ancestor and was proclaimed THE Wiarton Willie. The original Wiarton Willie lived and prognosticated the weather from 1955 until his passing in 1999.

The original Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania has also been replaced, unless the current denizen of Gobbler's Knob is 114 years old, having begun his predictions in 1887 (but not in public until 1966, possibly because the people of Punxsutawney had enough on their hands teaching their kids to spell P-u-n-x-s-u-t-a-w-n-e-y without also being classified as nutcakes for putting on tuxedos to ask a groundhog's opinion on spring planting -- they had to wait for the Age of Television, when anything goes).

Wee Willie (and presumably Phil) eats alfalfa, clover, greens, carrots and apples. His favourite food is carrots, especially carrot sticks. I can understand his taste for the latter. I have swung on the sticks of quite a few carrottops in my day, too.

How accurate are the predictions? If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, it means spring is just around the corner. Well, Phil did NOT see his shadow this year, nor did Wee Willie. So it looks like spring really will be late this year. That ought to mean something, when two groundhogs agree. It might be wise to remember, however, that spring won't get here till March 21 no matter what those little guys see! Remember the Equinox!

Traditionally, the groundhog is supposed to awaken on February 2, Groundhog Day, and come up out of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he will return to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he remains outside and starts his year, because he knows that spring has arrived early.

However, if you want the awful truth, Phil's keepers secretly decide upon the "forecast" in advance of the groundhog's arousal!

BTW, do you know that a groundhog is also known as a woodchuck? Which brings us to the eternal question: "Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?" Per one of our intellectuals resident on the SIlverfoxes Club E-mail List, that translates as: "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

It may be unanswerable, but if you want to know if woodchucks chuckle, plant a microphone in the burrow after they've retired from the human hullaballoo on Groundhog Day. Two bits says you'll hear it loud and clear, plus a few squeaks that translate into English as "What fools these mortals be!"

THE END