#fred la marmotte

[taamlok]

seasonal depression cured, shout out to my boy wiarton willie for the early spring prediction

[spockvarietyhour]

Groundhog Predictive Success Rate

[gayarograce]

i tried to get a decent mix of american and canadian groundhogs on this poll. there're also one or two "alternative groundhogs" on this poll too i think. whether or not they count is up to you

[plaguedoctorraven]

Thinking about last year's Groundhog day when Québec's groundhog, Fred la Marmotte, died the day before and the organizer solemnly went up on stage besides someone in a groundhog costume and said to a bunch of small children, "In life, there is a saying: only one thing is certain, which is that nothing is certain. I'm announcing the death of Fred," to audible dismay.

[grunge-mermaid]

oh shit it's groundhog day

I'm guessing the new Fred la Marmotte didn't die suddenly again

[goalhofer]

2023 In Memoriam Part 6

Hazel McCallion, 101

Gerhard Moehring, 101

Henry Moore, 88

Sidney Thornton, 68

Bobby Hull, 84

Bobby Beathard, 86

Albert Schweitzer, 101

Félix Sienra, 107

David Durenberger, 88

Cleonice Berardinelli, 106

Cleve Bryant, 75

Lou Campanelli, 84

Joyce Dopkeen, 80

Dave Elder, 47

Young-Hee Kim, 59

Joe Moss, 92

Tom Schoen, 77

Joanne Bracker, 77

Don Bramlett, 60

Jozef Čapla, 84

Terry Saldaña, 64

Prof. René Schérer, 100

George P. Wilbur, 81

Stanley Wilson; Jr., 40

Don Bielke, 90

Ron Campbell, 82

Chris Chesser, 74

Fred La Marmotte, 12

Pete Reed, 33

[thegirlwholied]

tonight I got a text from my friend about the groundhog's prediction, boo more winter-

also "at least he was not dead like the one from Canada"

[hopepunk-priest]

*Canadian voice* I know that when the groundhog comes out and gets scared of his own shadow that there'll be 6 more weeks of winter but what's it mean if the groundhog fucking dies?? Fuckin six more weeks of winter and then the planet's core just falls out its own ass? I mean I never read Dante's Inferno but I'm pretty sure the final circle of hell is marked by a groundhog just up and having a stroke.

Saw a journalist being clever saying Fred's death "casts a shadow" on groundhog day but I think the signalling of the end times is a bad opportunity to make clever wordplay. They were talking about him like he was a person too. Took over for his father, served nine years, had an 80% success rate, no one's talking about how he died the night a once-every-50k-years green comet passed us by and I'm not saying that's some biblical shit bud but what are the chances.

[cosmosinmycoffee]

Y’all weren’t gonna tell me that Fred the groundhog died???? I gotta learn everything myself??

RIP Fred

[naiadic]

Honestly losing my shit over the fact Canada's Groundhog, Fred, fucking DIED before he could make his prediction. Motherfucker saw the shadow of DEATH

[super-oddity]

sir is not happy with punxsutawney phil’s prediction

[rosewind2007]

“He was a least 14-years-old; that’s pretty old for a groundhog,”

[mutant-distraction]

Beloved Canadian groundhog Fred la

marmotte found dead hours before

Groundhog Day.

Spring is canceled.

[grunge-mermaid]

This is the only kind of news I want today.

Fred la Marmotte didn’t die again. It’s a good Groundhog Day.

[porterdavis]

tl;dr -- spring will be late

[murshili-ii]

Groundhog Day special: A Look Outside

~ ~

In continuation of the Spring Vignettes series of seasonal minimalist digital art pieces, I present our second piece, in honor of Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, on February 2nd.

Before I explain what the piece means to me, please tell me what it means to _you_. I’m just the artist; you’re the beholder. The art exists in your eyes. I want to know what I’ve accomplished.

Leave a comment.

~ ~

Groundhogs (Marmota monax), also known as woodchucks or Canada marmots, are large ground-squirrels common in North America. During the winter, they go into hibernation in the shelter of their burrows; true hibernation, unlike the torpor of a bear.

In the United States, folk custom has it that on the 2nd of February, a groundhog comes out of his hole for a peek; and if he sees his shadow, he returns to continue his slumber, concluding that winter will continue for another six weeks; whereas if he casts no visible shadow, he will emerge, concluding that spring has arrived.

This folk-saying was probably introduced to North America by Pennsylvania Dutch settlers (actually Germans, who refer to themselves in German as “deutsch”), who adapted it from a similar saying in Germany concerning badgers. In German, “Lichtmeßwoche” (“Candlemas-week”) rhymes with “Loche” (“hole”).

In recent times, one particular groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, has attained great fame as a meteorologist on account of this rumor; and he allegedly conveys predictions to his top-hatted handlers as part of a public ceremony, which are then interpreted into English and announced.

Personally, I think the tophat would look more fetching on the groundhog.

Other famous groundhogs have taken on similar roles as local prognosticators, such as Fred la Marmotte, a Québécois groundhog who also releases predictions every February 2nd.

On a cold early-spring morning, I have no doubt that any groundhog would greatly appreciate a four-paned glass window, and a steaming hot cup of tea, if he could obtain them.

(You can think of it as a cup of espresso if you want; again, I’m just the artist.) The bird outside is an American robin (Turdus migratorius); a migratory bird that winters in the south, the first sighting of which is said to be a herald of spring in the north.