General Beauregard Lee, the famous groundhog and weather prognosticator, associated for many years with winter weather predictions in the southern part of the United States, has taken up residency in Butts County. General Lee, also known as “Beau”, was recently relocated to the Dauset Trails Nature Center after his previous home, the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, was forced to close in December.

Since then, the staff at Dauset Trails have been getting his new home ready for him to make his first local public appearance on Groundhog Day, which is on February 2nd, 2018. Those wishing to come out and watch the General do his thing are encouraged to be at Dauset Trails early on the 2nd. The gates will open at 6AM and General Lee is expected to make his appearance sometime around 7:30AM. Admission is free and as always, Dauset will roll out the red carpet to visitors.

Tradition surrounding the “holiday” is, if the General emerges and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, an early spring is likely. According to statistics, General Lee has a better track record at predicting the length of winter than that of his northern counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil, but he has been known to miss the target occasionally (the blizzard in 1993 comes to mind). Many hope the General will predict an early spring for 2018, given the abnormally colder than usual winter so far.

Please welcome him to Butts County and even if you can’t get down for the Groundhog Day Event, you can see the famous General in his surroundings as Dauset Trails is open most days of the year. Admission is always free and groups are welcome. For more information, call them at 770-775-6798

Image courtesy of Dauset Trails