nature

Looking back from the vantage point of the Blizzard of ’13, it looks Ms. G. was right when she predicted six more weeks of winter.

Ms. G, Drumlin Farm’s resident groundhog, emerged from her carrying crate on February 2 and saw her shadow, a prediction contradiction with her better-know fellow woodchuck, Punxsutawney Phil. But the dozens of observers gathered around her on the bare frozen ground didn’t mind — they showed their appreciation in the usual way, though the applause was considerably muffled by mittens and gloves. Before her pronouncement, some even briefly chanted, “Six more weeks! Six more weeks!”

Ms. G clambers aboard her stump as she prepares to make her prediction. (Photo: Alice Waugh)

The crowd, some with “Ms. G for State Groundhog” signs, wait for her pronouncement. (Photo: Alice Waugh)

The morning was also a campaign event for Ms. G., who is running hard for the post of Official State Groundhog with the backing of former local TV meteorologist and environmental reporter Mish Michaels of Wellesley. Michaels is helping children at the Hunnewell School as they try to move a bill through the state legislature that will, if approved, give statewide stature to the Lincoln groundhog.

“I’m her campaign manager at this point,” said Michaels, who sported a groundhog hat and campaign sign.

In addition to her political/rodential work, Michaels is creating on a children’s book with her young daughter called “A Groundhog’s Shadowy Road to Fame” and running an online children’s clothing business called Natural Cloud Cover (“organic clothing for the weather watcher in every kid!”).

After a few minutes of watching Ms. G. clamber over a tree stump in the frigid air, many of the children and their parents trooped inside to get their weather questions answered by a panel of local meteorologists. Inevitably, one of the kids asked whether we would have any more snow this year — a reasonable question during what had been an almost snowless season.

The short answer, said WBZ-TV’s Joe Joyce, was yes, though neither he nor his colleagues could predict when. “We keep getting it inch by inch. It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. Little did he know…

(This article was originally published in the Lincoln Journal on June 21, 2012.)

By Alice Waugh

The Codman Community Farms entrance area was a colorful and congenial place to be on the night of June 16, as dozens of families pitched tents, ate dinner and enjoyed some campfire camaraderie during the annual Codman Campout.

For the past five years each June, members of Codman Community Farms have been invited to camp at the farm overnight after an evening of children’s crafts activities, s’mores and campfire songs. This year there were 30 tents with 86 people participating, most of them families with young children.

“We’re so happy to see that. For this event to keep going, we need these younger campers,” said Codman Community Farm board member Erica Darnall.

Like many of the other parents in attendance, Matt and DJ Mitchell of Lincoln had done some camping before they had children, and the Codman event was a chance to introduce their younger child to the experience.

“This is a test run,” said Matt, sitting in the barn before dinner with DJ and their daughters Montana, 2, and Cadence, 4, who have visited the farm frequently (Cadence is especially fond of Opal the donkey). “We’re excited about the evening, and we’re hoping for a happy and tear-free time.”

The children checked off activities on a quiz sheet to qualify for s’mores after dinner. Inside the barn before dinner, they sniffed plants in jars at the “Guess What Herb I Am” table, made paper puppets and clothespin dragonflies, found earthworms on a tray of soil, and even made “I Love Ewe” sheep out of popsicle sticks and cotton balls to give their dads the next morning for Father’s Day.

Lincoln fourth-grader Sydney Kanzer and her father Bill were at the campout for the second time. Asked what was her favorite part of the event, Sydney replied enthusiastically, “Everything’s awesome!” She later echoed many of the kids in citing the marshmallows and guitar sing-along around the campfire as being especially fun.

“The food is one of the best parts,” said Linn Elmes as she helped herself to dinner along with her husband David and their daughters Natalie, 9, and Sophie, 6. The hot buffet catered by Rebecca Leonardi of Lincoln included pulled chicken, a strawberry and goat cheese salad, and a side dish of rice, sausage and dried cranberries for the parents alongside hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and watermelon for the school-age diners.

It was a cool and crisp evening, not too warm for snuggling into sleeping bags, and everyone slept well, including the first-time campers. “Nobody cried and woke anyone up,” said Darnall, adding that the turkeys didn’t start gobbling too early, either. Shortly after 6 a.m., the roosters crowed and the campers emerged from their tents for bagels and coffee.

“It was a really beautiful evening, and everyone had a great time,” Darnall said.

(Editor’s note, July 2019: I took these photos in 2012, but generations of software have left behind the original captions. If anyone knows the names of these folks, please email lincolnsquirelnews@gmail.com.)