{"id":30480,"date":"2026-02-12T01:28:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T06:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abelfamily.ca\/wordpress\/?p=30480"},"modified":"2026-02-12T20:22:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:22:34","slug":"groundhog-day-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abelfamily.ca\/wordpress\/groundhog-day-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Groundhog Day 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Groundhog Day was on a Monday this year so we unified Mumtaz’s Birthday and Groundhog Day celebrations into a long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an even numbered year which would normally suggest a drive to Wiarton beginning at 2am, ending at 6am followed by a delightful 2.5 hour morning in the outdoors (temperature this year was -15C). Unfortunately Mumtaz, Sam and Trevor wouldn’t listen to reason and refused to travel to Wiarton, go figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atmosphere was electric at 6:30AM but we paused for the Mandatory Misery Shot\u2122, simulated this year as we were not in the freezing cold outdoors as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n

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And, for good measure, here are Sam and Trevor, you can just see the excitement building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Star and April<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We met Star and April in 2014 in Wiarton, this year is the 20th anniversary of their Groundhog Day celebrations in a wonderful variety of locations so congratulations from our family on this milestone. This year Star and April travelled to Sun Prairie Wisconsin which is roughly in metropolitan Madison. They posted a good number of dispatches this year; click here<\/a> to see more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Punxsutawney<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun rises in Punxsutawney at around 7:05am. It is a bit sad to say but Punxsutawney absolutely sets the bar for Groundhog Day celebrations, and this year was no exception. Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of Winter in front of a huge adoring crowd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n