In Pennsylvania, the venerable groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow today and saw his shadow, leading officials to declare there would be six more weeks of winter.

Maybe on the East Coast, but not in Boulder, according to local rodent Flatiron Freddy.

Early this morning, a small group of people gathered at Chautauqua on Groundhog Day to see whether Freddy — who is actually a yellow-bellied marmot, not a groundhog — would see his shadow.

(Full disclosure: Freddy, who was killed by a car some years ago, is a stuffed marmot.)

“We’re exactly halfway between winter and spring,” said Open Space Ranger Dave Gustafson, after a quick lesson on the winter solstice and the spring equinox. “What a great day to make a prediction.”

After an intro at the Ranger Cottage, Gustafson led the rodent enthusiasts out to Flatiron Freddy’s burrow in Chautauqua Meadow, where he had the children in the group call out to Freddy to rouse him from his sleep.

He popped right up. Literally.

Freddy, who was hidden beneath a layer of straw in a plywood-lined hole in the ground, was rigged with a number of strings that traveled through a pipe (also buried under the ground) to a ranger accomplice. A tug on the string sent Freddy, and the scroll he carried under his arm, to the surface.

The scroll, as read to the crowd by Gustafson, declared: “I, Flatiron Freddy, the forecaster of the Flatirons, the robustus rodent of the Rockies, being of sound mind and stuffed body … no shadow around me is there near, so an early spring shall appear — except for today when there will be a snowstorm at 4 p.m.”

This wasn’t Freddy’s first Hollywood entrance.

A couple of years ago, Freddy literally rolled out of his burrow on the chassis of a remote-control truck. And Gustafson said he and the other rangers have toyed with the idea of having Freddy make his entrance via zip line. (Don’t worry kids; there’s always next year.)

Groundhog Day is based on traditions that began in Europe, Gustafson said, where it was common for people to look to the hedgehog for their spring forecasting needs.

“When all the European immigrants moved over here, they brought their traditions of hedgehog day,” he said. “They looked around, and the closest thing they could find was a groundhog.”

In Colorado, a similar problem presented itself.

“We don’t have groundhogs in Colorado; this is the closest thing we have,” Gustafson said, looking at Freddy.

And while marmots typically live at a higher elevation than Chautauqua, the rare marmot can be found down in the lowlands. (Apparently, there’s a marmot that has made a home near the East Boulder Recreation Center.)

Among the onlookers today were three University of Colorado students, who were looking for something to spice up their day.

“We are law students,” explained Kate Whitney, “so our life isn’t very exciting. This seemed to be a pretty momentous event.”

Fellow lawyer-to-be Jessica Counce also shared her impressions of Freddy.

“We were extremely disappointed to hear he was formerly a victim of vehicular homicide,” she said. “It’s nice they were able to capture his spirit.”

Some of the younger onlookers also were captivated by Freddy. Six-year-old Evelyn Gustafson said her favorite part of the event was “when the groundhog popped up.”

Her sister, Ruby, 3, said she was fine with Freddy’s prediction of an early spring.

Then again, Ruby is easy to please.

“I like early spring and winter,” she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Laura Snider at 303-473-1327 or sniderl@dailycamera.com.