Groundhog Day: A Photo Essay

February 2, 2026, at dawn, from the 8th floor of the hospital

Today marks the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Some people celebrate Candlemas or Imbolc, but in our area, we celebrate Groundhog Day. If the groundhog emerges from its den and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it is cloudy, there will be an early spring. The morning was brilliant and beautiful at sunrise today, with a cloudless sky, a full moon that was setting, and every outdoor surface shimmering with hoarfrost. Our local groundhog surely saw his shadow.

Ripley romping in the snow

Winter started the first week of November, robbing us of the last half of the autumn season. It has not abated except for two to three days of above-freezing temperatures. There has been snowfall more days than not, along with a couple of ice storms. 

Parking lot spaces are taken up by huge snow banks

Driving has been challenging at times, and walking (at least for me) is even more treacherous. I cannot remember a winter when I have spent so little time outdoors. But the past few days have been clear and extremely cold. The Great Lakes are freezing up, and that means clear skies and fewer lake effect snow flurries. Here are a few photos taken this weekend.

Grounds of the McMichael Canadian Art Gallery, Kleinberg, ON

The Toronto area had a huge snowfall last weekend that dumped 40-60 cm of snow in a day. I visited the McMichael gallery with my good friend, and the winter scenes outdoors were as lovely as many of the paintings indoors.

Full Snow Moon rise

The temperatures were in the minus double-digits Celsius when we walked up the hill to watch the full Snow Moon rise on February 1st.

The crane gave some perspective as the moon rose above the horizon

The sun was setting at the same time the moon was rising, adding a colourful glow to the sky.

A few hardy tobogganers slid down the big hill in the cold. It took two hours for my core to warm up once we got home!

I think we are in for a five-month-long winter this year, no matter what the groundhog says. The sun is more spring-like each day, but the Arctic air is winning the temperature battle. Hopefully, we can enjoy more outdoor time in the last six weeks of the season, time that does not entail shovelling snow!