It's official: At roughly 8am EST this morning, and on the occasion of his 50th prognostication, Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow and has predicted an early spring!

Easily the warmest Groundhog Day festivities in recent years, and while at the time it did seem a foregone conclusion, by the time we could get back to the car, the rising sun was peaking out from beneath the clouds! So it was a close call, all the more suspenseful considering our own Lieutenant Governor for Ontario was on hand to messenger a hog-roast threat on behalf of an unspecified First Nations group should Willie's shadow appear!

The imbolg/candlemas revelries will get underway starting Friday and run right through the weekend.