Looking Back: Prognosticators Abound

So I made it through Robbie Burns Day but not before absorbing a half dozen shots of Glenallachie, a single malt scotch named best in the world in 2025.  AND had copious amounts of haggis brought in from Bon Ton Meats in Calgary. It was lovely.  I was assigned to slice open the steaming hot haggis after a reading of Robbie Burn’s poem, “Address to the Haggis”. It ends with those famous lines, 

“Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware (no watery stuff) That jaups in luggies (That splashes in small wooden dishes

But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her (Scotland) a Haggis”

So now as I cast a glance forward to the next seasonal event I am recalling a Scottish couplet that reads, “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, There’ll be twa [two] winters in the year.”    That is to say, “If February 2nd is sunny, the winter is only halfway done. The first half has passed, and another full “winter” is coming.” Candlemas,on February 2nd,  is the celebration of the presentation of baby Jesus Christ at the temple and traditionally signified the end of the Epiphany season. (time to take the decorations down)

The common Ground Hog Day projection is a modification of that old prediction in which, if the whistlepig sees its shadow it goes back underground and we get six more weeks of winter.   There are a few of these well known prognosticators around, including that mouthful, Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania), Shubenacadie Sam (Nova Scotia), Wharton Willie (Ontario) and our own Balzac Billy. Myself I love  the Quebec counterpart’s name, Fred la Marmotte! 

An animal with predictive power was an element of Celtic culture and therein lays a story.  I lived in Fernie for 25 years and saw a lot of snow. A lifetimes worth actually. So here is a snow ground hog story for you.

The winter of 1995/96 in the Fernie area was unbelievable. We had 13 feet of snow by Christmas and 30 feet by the end of winter.  It was chaos. Snow piled so high you couldn’t see your neighbour’s house across the street.  One of those years where you could toss your grandkids off the front step and they would disappear.

Groundhog Day came around and the word was that there was no way in hell that a groundhog was going to be able to dig himself out around here and see his shadow.  So my wife and I, on a lark, loaded up our bullmastiff Max and three Shih Tzu’s dogs into the car and drove to the infamous Hosmer bar. (Elk River Inn)! This is the famous bar where the annual civic election is held by a penny a vote and that one year elected a beagle as mayor.

We drove to this iconic bar with Max and the three Shih Tzu’s,, Honey Bee, Tinker Bell and Blazer, and walked in the front door where we were greeted by an  astonished crowd.  Well maybe not that astonished. I had heard that some years back a pig was observed seated with its owner at a table sipping beer from a small dish. We informed the bemused bartender that we had used Max, who we claimed was a genuine groundhog finder, to dig out three of those trapped groundhogs. We then presented the Shih Tzu and said, “look, they have been trapped underground so long that their coats have grown very long. This was followed by a rounding cheer from the bar patrons and our table was promptly filled with drinks.

The sun was shining through a window onto the pool table in the bar that day and it was there we placed the always cool and collected Shih Tzus’s.

Unfortunately the sun’s rays angling through that window hit them broadside and they all cast their shadows onto the far side of the table. There was a loud groan from the crowd, and someone hollered “oh my God, another six weeks of winter”, and the bar crowd roared with laughter and another round of drinks were ordered.