Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: Brendan Sullivan About two hundred gather to see the groundhog Gen. Beauregard Lee show himself at sunrise on Groundhog Day at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn Saturday. According to this folklore tradition his shadow was seen therefore the annual weather prediction is six more weeks of winter.

LILBURN -- LILBURN -- The cold will continue, a shy Gen. Beauregard Lee surmised Saturday, as the groundhog stole back into his mansion Saturday at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn.

The prediction of six more weeks of winter wasn't welcome for much of the crowd, bundled up in below-freezing weather for the annual Groundhog Day event. But Georgia's official weather prognosticator boasts a more accurate record than the more famous Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, who did not see his shadow this year.

Some kids didn't mind Beau's prediction.

"I want it to be winter, so we have more opportunities to have snow," 7-year-old Emma Grace Harris of Grayson said.

But after Beau turned his tail and returned to his house, 6-year-old Isaac Liverance of Lilburn booed from atop his dad's shoulders.

"You get out here. ... You little rat," he yelled. "I want spring to go to the neighborhood pool."

For the 33rd annual Groundhog Day event, property manager Codi Reeves invited author Flavia Mullen to talk to the crowd.

The North Carolina woman, who turned 65 on the holiday, talked about the pet groundhog she had as a child and the collection of more than 300 figurines she has received on her birthdays.

After frequenting the game ranch with her grandkids, Mullens said coming to a Groundhog Day event was a dream come true.

"I think it's wonderful," she said of Beau's prediction, "because we haven't had our snow yet."

A few more weeks of frost are needed, she said, for the trees to get ready for spring.

"It's going to be beautiful," she said. "It's going to make the plants even more lovely."

Wearing groundhog hats from a trip to see Punxsutawney Phil, Karen Kesler and Beth Fetterman drove from Chapel Hill, N.C., to see Beau, their third groundhog.

They missed the early morning prediction, but waited for Beau to come out again to see the crowd.

"It's a good excuse to go see Atlanta," Kesler said of enjoying the holiday, although she hopes that Beau's prediction doesn't come true. "I hate winter."

MOBILE USERS: Click here to watch a video from the event.