Shubenacadie Sam and Lucy the Lobster gave differing outlooks for spring’s arrival early Friday morning.
At the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, the most renowned groundhog in Nova Scotia rejected the notion of six additional weeks of winter.
Shubenacadie Sam initially required some persuasion to venture out of her den just after 8 a.m. but when she did her shadow couldn’t be seen leading to her projection of an early end to winter.
Sam, being in the Atlantic time zone, became the first groundhog in North America to make a prediction.
Lucy the Lobster, sporting a sou’wester hat, also joined in the Groundhog Day predictions. However, in Barrington, N.S., more than 300 kilometers away, Lucy the Lobster, a six-pound, 25-year-old crustacean, made a contradictory forecast. Crawling out of the ocean, she immediately saw her shadow, signifying another six weeks of winter.
Despite the mixed reactions from the crowd, Lucy’s prediction inaugurated the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl in Barrington, renowned as the lobster capital of Canada. Last year, both animals concurred on the forecast of six additional weeks of winter.