Friendly ground squirrels come above ground for treats

Visiting a provincial park called E.C Manning in British Columbia, Brent and Elsa wanted to see if the tradition of Groundhog Day was going to hold true.The Groundhog Day celebration is a tradition that says that if a hibernating animal, generally following a groundhog, casts a shadow on February 2, winter and cold weather will last another six weeks. Taking along a few vegetable snacks for the furry friends made for some fun.

Punxsutawney Phil is the name of a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In the area of Punxsutawney Phil’s temporary burrow there is an annual festive ceremony of food and music awaiting Phil to emerge from his burrow. In anticipation of him coming from below ground, to whether he sees his shadow or not, locals gather for some great fun. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring".

In Canada and the United States, the Groundhog Day celebration has been celebrated since 1887. Punxsutawney Phil became an international celebrity thanks to the 1993 movie Groundhog Day which starred Bill Murray. During the rest of the year before and after the Groundhog Day ceremony, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, takes care of Phil at a specific club location. On this day that Brent and Elsa visited their furry ground squirrel friends the sun disappeared and snow began to fall. Becoming more involved in gathering snacks the ground squirrels forgot about checking for their shadow…on with six weeks more of cold weather.