Friday, February 09, 2007

Here comes the rain again

Many of you have no doubt heard about Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-forecasting groundhog. But did you know that there is a pug who predicts rainfall? And not only that, she is far more trustworthy than most TV meteorologists -- and certainly more so than any who wear bow ties. Today's lesson, class, is about Mattie the pug.

Mattie, a 6-year-old, made her annual prognostication at last Saturday's Pacific Northwest Rain Festival in Bellingham, Wash. Publicity chairperson Taimi Dunn Gorman told the Seattle Times that the event is "one of the shortest festivals in the world. An hour, maybe a little more. The pug is felt, then everyone heads off to drink or get something to eat."

And that is the highlight: The annual feeling of the pug (pictured above). As anxious festivalgoers watch with rapt attention, the event's Reigning Queen lifts Mattie from underneath an awning and thrusts her out into the elements. Mattie's fur is then felt for moisture. Wet fur means six more weeks of rain. But last week's event found Mattie with dry fur, and hence the Pacific Northwest can expect another seven weeks of rainfall.
In an affirmation of Mattie's uncanny prognosticating prowess, precipitation soon followed.
For more details on the festival, click here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gotta love the Pacfic Northwest! At least we know what to expect - more rain! Always more rain!

Thanks for posting about Fairhaven and Bellingham! It really is a great festival, even if it's short!

Anonymous said...

Gheez, Bro. Mugsy, Mama can forecast rain. Take yesterday morning for instance.

Mama woke-up and the first words out of her mouth were...............well, maybe we shouldn't go there, but she mysteriously KNEW she was going to have to put on several layers of warm clothes and take old Rosebud, Gumdrop and me outside under an umbrella, one at a time, to pee because it was raining.

I'm pretty good about getting my business done in a timely manner but not old Rosebud or Gumdrop. Mama always has to take them to the outhouse (which she refers to as a greenhouse for some reason) where they dilly-dally around forever.

J. B.

Zeus said...

I don't know how I feel about this. Does Mattie want to be felt up by perfect strangers? Did anyone ask Mattie if she wanted to make this type of committment to predicting weather for the rest of her life?

It's slightly worrisome if you ask me.

And on the other hand, creepy too!

lalagirl said...

HI Ayatollah -

We are friends from MySpace. Please add us as your Pug Lifers. We added you as our "Puggers" friends over at our blog at www.lepug.com.

Porky & Brownie

Ayatollah Mugsy said...

My pleasure, Nickie. Welcome to the congregation. Are you involved with the festival? If so, perhaps you could arrange an exclusive interview for me with Mattie.

Yes, J.B., but did your mother know if it would be raining a month into the future? Granted, such knowledge is of limited utility. But it is impressive, nonetheless.

I don't know, Zeus. Maybe we should be alarmed. I just assumed that if Mattie didn't want to be there, she could conjure up a monsoon and escape with her superior dog-paddling skills.

Hi, Porkie and Brownie. I will officially add you to the congregation's rolls.