The groundhog chorus has spoken, but its members appear divided on whether we should put away our woolly sweaters for another year.
Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam left his hole early Sunday morning and his shadow was nowhere in sight. Gathered townsfolk began celebrating, since legend has it that no shadow means spring is just around the corner. In Wiarton, Ont., another celebrated Canadian woodchuck agreed. After hiding from his handlers for the past four months, Wiarton Willie left his den and did not see his shadow, to the delight of cheering onlookers.
But there was no joy in Punxsutawney, Pa., where Sam and Willie's fellow forecaster Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.
Other prognosticating rodents had varied opinions Sunday. In Ohio, Buckeye Chuck emerged from his burrow outside a Marion, Ohio, radio station Sunday, and did not see his shadow.
The Groundhog Day tradition is rooted in a German superstition that if an animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, bad weather is coming.
In Nova Scotia, about 100 people gathered at Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park, many with painted-on groundhog faces. A park spokesman said Sam was rewarded for his efforts with an extra portion of carrots, his favourite vegetable.
And in Wiarton, Willie's appearance Sunday was the culmination of a festival leading up to his prediction. Fawning spectators chanted his name as the woodchuck with the meteorological magic called for an early spring.
Organizers appeared relieved.
"Everybody around here is looking for an early spring," festival chair John Aiken said. "If the prediction was for six more weeks of winter, the crowd was going to be chasing all the VIPs off the stage and down the road."
Still, festival volunteers refused to divulge how they managed to wake Willie from his long winter's nap.
"It's a trade secret," Aiken said with a grin. "You don't want us telling how we rouse Willie. He knows when Feb. 2 is. We weren't certain that Willie was going to leave his luxurious new accommodations, since he's now being treated in the manner he should have been treated for years - as a dignitary and royalty."
At the Pennsylvania event, which draws thousands of people each year, an anxious crowd shivered in near freezing temperatures as Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow, suggesting another six weeks of wintry weather.
Many of those gathered were still preoccupied with thoughts of Saturday's space shuttle tragedy in which seven astronauts were lost.
Kathleen Perdy, 50, a teacher from Alliance, Ohio, was among those braving the predawn chill. Her 26-year-old son was deployed to the Middle East on Saturday.
"Life goes on. You learn you have to value your time, and you have to respect each other. Most importantly, you have to have fun," she said.
The crowd watched fireworks and danced to stay warm. They then sang the U.S. national anthem, with flags set at half-mast.
Groundhog Day organizers in Punxsutawney estimated the weekend crowd at a record 40,000. Attendance has ballooned since the 1993 movie Groundhog Day and shuttle buses now bring visitors to Phil's home at Gobbler's Knob. Last year, Phil also saw his shadow.
I want summer NOW!
Funny thing is, the Canadians need 2 to do the work of one US groundhog. 