Last year, Flatiron Freddy had to make his Groundhog Day prediction all by his lonesome because of snow. This year, Freddy was more prepared for the conditions.
Flatiron Freddy — the dead, stuffed marmot who serves as Boulder’s answer to Punxsutawney Phil — donned skis in order to make his appearance at Chautauqua, where he failed to see his shadow despite the fact that he was wearing a top hat and a cape.
“I guess we’re going to see an early spring,” Boulder Open Space ranger Dave Gustafson said. “Time to get out your bathing suits. It’s not going to be cold at all.”
That prediction is in contrast to Punxsutawney Phil, who predicted six more weeks of winter. But Boulder has always had to do things a little differently.
“I’ve got bad news: Our chances of seeing a groundhog today are zero,” Gustafson said. Gustafson said Colorado does have marmots but that they are hibernating at this time of year. Flatiron Freddy is the exception.
“I’ve got more bad news; Flatiron Freddy has been dead for a while,” Gustafson added. “But even though he’s dead, he always finds a way to make an appearance.”
It was a little touch and go for a while. The dozen or so people who ventured to Chautauqua to see Freddy gathered around his stump and sang the groundhog song — think “I’m a Little Teapot” but with more groundhog — but Flatiron Freddy failed to emerge.
A worried Gustafson reached into the stump but didn’t find the stuffed seer. Instead, he found a jump rope, dumbbell and an issue of “Marmot Fitness.”
Gustafson hypothesized that those items weren’t in Freddy’s stump just because every home in Boulder is obsessed with being fit. Gustafson said studies have shown that climate change is actually causing marmots to wake from their hibernation sooner than usual, which in turn is making them eat more and become fatter.
“This should teach us to think about how we affect our environment,” Gustafson said.
Luckily, Flatiron Freddy still made his belated appearance, sliding down the snow-covered path on his tiny skis to make his prediction and strike his usual pose for photos with the kids.
Finn Hatfield, 7, was at his first-ever Flatiron Freddy reveal.
“I like him,” Finn said.
When asked if he liked Freddy more because he was calling for an early spring, he quickly replied, “Yeah.”
Finn’s mother, Amanda, said that the event was a cool way for the kids to learn about nature before heading off to school for the day.
“It’s a beautiful day to be outside,” she said. “Plus Ranger Dave always has something exciting planned.”
Gustafson said that Flatiron Freddy had been going to schools in recent years but decided he would return to Chautauqua this year.
“We’ve started doing it again for the public,” Gustafson said.
As for Flatiron Freddy, he left on the heels of Boulder Open Space ranger Kent Coghill, who somehow always seemed to be walking ahead of the skiing stuffed animal, even as Freddy skied uphill.
“He’s trying to get in shape,” Gustafson said.
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars
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