Canada’s famous prognosticating rodents were split over spring’s arrival on Groundhog Day.
Ontario’s Wiarton Willie reportedly did not see his shadow on Sunday morning, which is good news for people tired of wintry weather. But Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam and Quebec’s Fred la Marmotte saw their shadows, predicting a long winter ahead.
The tradition holds that if a groundhog doesn’t see its shadow on Groundhog Day, springlike weather will soon arrive. But if a shadow appears, winter’s icy grip won’t let go for quite some time.
Those keeping the Wiarton Willie tradition alive in Ontario’s South Bruce Peninsula carried the white-haired groundhog inside a see-through box filled with a bed of straw to a stage around 8 a.m….