Flatiron Freddy Predicts More Winter For Boulder: Groundhog Day

BOULDER, CO -- Punxsutawney Phil, the nation's groundhog arbiter of seasonal change, may have predicted an early spring for 2019, but in Boulder, Flatiron Freddy gave a different forecast. Always one for grand entrances, this year the stuffed yellow-bellied marmot took up skydiving and floated in on a parachute from a perfectly blue Colorado sky. The sunny morning left no doubt — Fred cast a long shadow and Boulder looks to be in for another six weeks of winter.

A groundhog could never cast a shadow in Boulder, explained Freddy's handler, Boulder Open Space ranger Dave Gustafson to an eager early morning crowd. Groundhogs aren't native to the area, which is why Freddy had to take up the job.

(Boulder Open Space Ranger, Dave Gustafson, and daughter, Ruby, give a lesson in rodent geography)

According to Freddy's history, posted inside the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage, he was dodging cars on the Pearl Street Mall on Groundhog Day in 1974 when he was hit: "His poor decision result[ed] in permanent residence with the Open Space and Mountain Parks Department."

The wintry forecast wasn't the biggest news of the morning, however. Freddy has been showing his age recently, so Gustafson explained to the crowd that he and his daughter have been keeping an eye on the roads for any potential successors. They found one this summer, and sent him straight off to the taxidermist.

"Next year," explained Gustafson, " Freddy may have a new look."

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Lead image: Freddy arrives via parachute. Mara Abbott/Patch