Greenwater Report for August 19, 2002

The Greenwater Report for August 19, 2002

Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, August 19, 2002 - by: Jerry Crawford

cool
August 18th, 2002: Cool again, overcast with occasional sunny spells, and windy.

shingle
mill
We went to Hudson Bay yesterday, for Heritage Days. We got there a bit late and missed the morning events and the parade, but there was lots to entertain us. They had a flour mill set up, being run by a long belt from an old tractor; also a shingle mill sawing shingles from a block of wood. The carriage that held the wood block had an offset lever on it, so that on each pass the angle was changed, resulting in uniformly tapered shingles.

blacksmith
shop
Then, of course, there was the threshing demonstration, and it attracted lots of attention. They had a wagon load of wheat sheaves, and it looked as if one man got all the joy of pitching them into the thresher. The blacksmith shop was an on-going demonstration. When I first got there, a lady was making something out of an iron rod; then later it was a man. Our Danny got a great deal of joy out of a beautifully made back scratcher that he bought.

teacups
We had to have a cup of tea with some cookies, of course, and admire their collection of teacups. Seems to me there were more than a thousand sets, most of them on display.

minature
horse
There was a team of miniature horses all decked out in harness and pulling a cart, giving people rides around the park, and the train was doing the same thing. Both rides seemed to be very popular. All in all, a pleasant day.

intermittent
rain
We went to Shand Fair on Wednesday; it rained a half dozen times between here and there, though at the fairgrounds there hadn’t been any rain since the previous evening. For the whole time we were there, it went from very brief periods of no rain, then, just as they got some of the events started, like the gymkhana events, it would start to rain. Then it would quit, or taper down to a very light drizzle. Then there was a real downpour.

mud fling
parking lot
The exhibit hall got more attention than ever before! One event that didn’t mind the rain a bit was the Mud Fling. It is a long trench filled with water and mud, and quads compete to see who can make it through fastest. I snuck my camera out from under my rain jacket and got a few shots. By the time we left, the road to the parking area was a mud fling too.

rain
Bruce and Dolores Bassett, Greenwater’s Campground Hosts, were there, and Bruce took great delight in showing off his weather prognosticating talents. He would point to a huge black cloud almost over our heads, and predict rain. He was right, too!

Rethreads

waste

We stopped at Porcupine Plain to have a look at the new business, Rethreads, which is now officially open. It is operated by Betty Rudoczyk and Lawrence Schmidt, and sells used clothing and shoes on consignment. I managed to get a photo of the interior and also of Betty and Lawrence. We wish them every success.

We noticed the Pool elevator being demolished; a large trackhoe was ripping down the west side and loading the material into a semi. It seems a shame that all that good lumber goes to waste, but I suspect the cost of pulling all those nails would make the lumber very expensive. Too bad they couldn’t burn it and store the heat for next winter.

teeter
Biking around the peninsula, I noticed something I have not noticed before - car tires have been buried in the sand under each end of each teeter, with eight or ten inches above the sand. When the teeter comes down, it is stopped (gently, I presume) well above the ground. Should make a softer landing when the guy on the other end jumps off suddenly, and make it less likely a foot will stray under the board.

runoff
We had over an inch of rain Wednesday night; the runoff gouged a deep trough across the beach. Wonder if they can jump it with the quad when they harrow? I guess not, because this morning there was a front-end loader smoothing it out.

Doreen & Jerry Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg



The Greenwater Report for August 19, 2002

Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, August 19, 2002 - by: Jerry Crawford
cool	August 18th, 2002: Cool again, overcast with occasional sunny spells, and windy.

shingle mill	We went to Hudson Bay yesterday, for Heritage Days. We got there a bit late and missed the morning events and the parade, but there was lots to entertain us. They had a flour mill set up, being run by a long belt from an old tractor; also a shingle mill sawing shingles from a block of wood. The carriage that held the wood block had an offset lever on it, so that on each pass the angle was changed, resulting in uniformly tapered shingles.

blacksmith shop	Then, of course, there was the threshing demonstration, and it attracted lots of attention. They had a wagon load of wheat sheaves, and it looked as if one man got all the joy of pitching them into the thresher. The blacksmith shop was an on-going demonstration. When I first got there, a lady was making something out of an iron rod; then later it was a man. Our Danny got a great deal of joy out of a beautifully made back scratcher that he bought.



teacups	We had to have a cup of tea with some cookies, of course, and admire their collection of teacups. Seems to me there were more than a thousand sets, most of them on display.

minature horse	There was a team of miniature horses all decked out in harness and pulling a cart, giving people rides around the park, and the train was doing the same thing. Both rides seemed to be very popular. All in all, a pleasant day.



intermittent rain	We went to Shand Fair on Wednesday; it rained a half dozen times between here and there, though at the fairgrounds there hadn’t been any rain since the previous evening. For the whole time we were there, it went from very brief periods of no rain, then, just as they got some of the events started, like the gymkhana events, it would start to rain. Then it would quit, or taper down to a very light drizzle. Then there was a real downpour.



mud fling parking lot	The exhibit hall got more attention than ever before! One event that didn’t mind the rain a bit was the Mud Fling. It is a long trench filled with water and mud, and quads compete to see who can make it through fastest. I snuck my camera out from under my rain jacket and got a few shots. By the time we left, the road to the parking area was a mud fling too.



rain	Bruce and Dolores Bassett, Greenwater’s Campground Hosts, were there, and Bruce took great delight in showing off his weather prognosticating talents. He would point to a huge black cloud almost over our heads, and predict rain. He was right, too!



Rethreads waste	We stopped at Porcupine Plain to have a look at the new business, Rethreads, which is now officially open. It is operated by Betty Rudoczyk and Lawrence Schmidt, and sells used clothing and shoes on consignment. I managed to get a photo of the interior and also of Betty and Lawrence. We wish them every success. We noticed the Pool elevator being demolished; a large trackhoe was ripping down the west side and loading the material into a semi. It seems a shame that all that good lumber goes to waste, but I suspect the cost of pulling all those nails would make the lumber very expensive. Too bad they couldn’t burn it and store the heat for next winter.

teeter	Biking around the peninsula, I noticed something I have not noticed before - car tires have been buried in the sand under each end of each teeter, with eight or ten inches above the sand. When the teeter comes down, it is stopped (gently, I presume) well above the ground. Should make a softer landing when the guy on the other end jumps off suddenly, and make it less likely a foot will stray under the board.



runoff	We had over an inch of rain Wednesday night; the runoff gouged a deep trough across the beach. Wonder if they can jump it with the quad when they harrow? I guess not, because this morning there was a front-end loader smoothing it out.



	Doreen & Jerry Crawford Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg