By Harrison Simeon

Flatiron Freddy saw his shadow on Sunday at Chautauqua Park, which means that the Boulder County region can expect six more weeks of winter.

Flatiron Freddy is a deceased, yellow-bellied marmot put in the spotlight once a year by Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers. He took to his stump Sunday morning to predict the region’s upcoming weather in a Western tradition similar to that of Punxsutawney Phil — the groundhog who makes the meteorological forecast for Groundhog Day.

In Boulder, more than 100 residents gathered near the Ranger Cottage for Sunday’s event, which included origin stories of both the Groundhog Day holiday and Freddy himself. Freddy is a close relative of the groundhog. The taxidermied animal previously sat at the Flagstaff Nature Center before a winter storm in 2007 inadvertently damaged his fur. After that, park rangers decided to give Freddy a proper revival.

“His brethren mice came up and tore a lot of the fur off of him, and (park rangers) ended up throwing him in the dumpster that year,” Ranger Dave Gustafson said. “We found him and kind of brought him back to life, so to say, and brought him back in showmanship.”

Freddy has since become a Boulder celebrity at the once-a-year event organized by the rangers, making an elaborate entrance and proclamation clad in a top hat and cape. This year, the soothsaying rodent sported a cast on his right arm after being brought in on a stretcher by Rocky Mountain Rescue Group members.

The rangers decided this year to promote hiking safety. They explained that poor Freddy slipped and fell on the ice along the nearby Royal Arch Trail and had to be tracked down by the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group members to arrive on time for the weather prediction ceremony. After predicting that the Philadelphia Eagles would win next week’s Super Bowl, Boulder’s oracle of atmosphere also saw his shadow, proclaiming a prolonged winter season.

“I’m from Pennsylvania, and I actually do a Groundhog Day party, so this is part of a day of celebration for me,” attendee Debby Goldman said about what the Flatiron Freddy ceremony means to her. “It’s a good excuse to celebrate in the middle of winter when it’s cold.”Additionally, Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers used the opportunity to shed light on the negative effect climate change may have on local marmot populations. The message was geared toward the young children that made up much of the audience, along with the hundreds who tuned in to the event’s annual YouTube livestream.

The morning concluded as the crowd approached Freddy like an A-list celebrity, cheerily conversing and posing for pictures with him on an ice-encrusted field in front of the snow- tipped Flatirons.

“It helps me get out of the winter blues,” said self-proclaimed Groundhog Day fanatic Brie Jutte, who was attending her eighth consecutive Flatiron Freddy ceremony. “The rangers here do such a great job of making it special and having something fun to look forward to right here in Boulder.”

The marmot’s declaration is not truly indicative of the weather to come. But at the midpoint between the cold, dark winter and the illuminating hue of spring, Freddy stood tall in the shadows as a beacon of one of America’s quirkiest national holidays and Boulder’s flourishing traditions.